every day's a holiday! » East Asia

O-higan

sinestor — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 22:31:17 +0000

March 18-24

…when the night and day are equally divided, Buddha appears on earth for a week to save stray souls and lead them to Nirvana.”

http://mothra.rerf.or.jp/ENG/Hiroshima/Festivals/35.html

Thus, in Japan the Sundays prior to the spring equinox (shuubun no hi) and the fall equinox (shunbun no hi) are known as O-higan. Days on which families visit and honor the graves of the departed. Ancestors are said to watch over the family like tutelary, guardian deities. That’s why we give thanks to our ancestors whenever we encounter success or prosperity . (But of course if we fail, it’s our own damn fault.)

Favorite foods are prepared for the departed, such as Ohagi (soft rice balls covered in sweetened bean jam), sushi, and vinegar rice & veggies. On the last day of the week, rice flour dumplings, special fruits and sweets are offered.

In Buddhism, O-higan is a time to focus on the 6 Perfections, or Pāramitā:

1. Dana – generosity

2. Sila – virtue

3. Ksanti – patience

4. Virya – effort

5. Dhyana – meditation (also ‘zen’)

6. Prajna – wisdom

O-higan

The O-higan days have been celebrated in Japan since the 8th century. The name Higan literally means, “the other shore” and is short for Tohigan—to arrive at the other shore. The 6 Pāramitā are the bridge that will enable us to cross over to the other shore of Nirvana.

White Day – Japan

sinestor — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:49:03 +0000

March 14

White Day is the complementary holiday of Valentine’s Day in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Valentine’s Day is celebrated as well, but a little differently than in the U.S.

On Valentine’s Day women generally give gifts of chocolate and the sort to the men in their lives: giri choco (obligatory chocolate) and honmei-choco (chocolate with a romantic connotation).

“Giri choco is given by women to their superiors at work as well as to other male co-workers. It is not unusual for a woman to buy 20 to 30 boxes of this type of chocolate for distribution around the office as well as to men that she has regular contact with.”

http://www.tanutech.com/japan/valentine.html

[Remind me to work in Japan.]

The counter-holiday, White Day, was promoted in the 1980s by the confections industry. One month after Valentine’s Day men relieve their guilt at receiving such gifts by buying the women in their lives chocolate in return. The March 14 chocolates generally cost 2 to 3 times as much as Valentine’s Day chocolates, and are boxed in white boxes, hence the name White Day.

I tend to avoid reporting on holidays promoted by the chocolate industry. Not out of any dislike of chocolate. On the contrary it’s my favorite food group. But there’s generally no rationale or history for the holiday other than to promote a particular confection. And depending on which calendar you look at, virtually every week in the year has a chocolate or candy holiday associated with it.

This week, for example, is American Chocolate Week.

March 19 is National Chocolate Caramel Day

March 24 is National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day

April hosts National Licorice Day, Chocolate-Covered Cashews Day and Jelly Bean Day.

And so on…

And National Chocolate Day? It’s on July 7.

And October 28.

And December 28.

And December 29.

You get the picture. There’s not any scrumptious chocolate candy combination you can name that doesn’t have its own holiday.

So why December 28 and 29? My guess, two more chances to indulge before those dreaded New Year’s resolutions kick in!

If you’re in Japan, enjoy a delicious, calorie-laden White Day! And if you’re in North America, I recommend celebrating two days at once with a delicious home-made Chocolate Pie.

After all, March 14 is also Pi Day!

Chinese Tree-Planting Day

sinestor — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 15:02:35 +0000

March 12

We tend to think of the environmental movement as something recent, that came along when the city passed out those big purple or blue recycling bins. But Tree-Planting Day is an ancient ritual in many cultures.

Arbor Day in China was originally a seasonal holiday observed during the Qingming Festival. Qingming means “Clear and Bright” (and no, it is not Scrabble eligible). Qingming falls 104 days after the winter solstice, on April 4th or 5th. During this time families remember and visit the graves of the dead, as well as enjoy the outdoor activities and the greenery of Spring.

In 1979, March 12th was officially designated as Tree Planting Day. But according to Cultivating the nation in Fujian’s forests: Forest policies and afforestation efforts in China, 1911-1937, the March 12th date went back to the 1920′s. Chiang Kai-shek, then leader of China, removed Tree Planting Day from the Qing Ming Festival in 1929 in order to establish it as a patriotic holiday rather than a traditional one.

Just as Yuan Shikai had previously linked Arbor Day with the Qingming Festival, Chiang Kai-shek…severed Arbor Day from the Qingming Festival and relocated it on the anniversary of the death of [former leader] Sun Yat-sen, March 12…
…By choosing the anniversary of Sun’s death as the date for the new national day, Chiang Kai-shek transformed the activity of tree planting into a more explicit celebration of the nation.

Also doing so, Chiang Kai-shek “established a symbolic link between himself and Sun Yat-sen.”

Sun Yat-sen

So who was Sun Yat-sen?

One of China’s most influential leaders.

He established the Three People’s Principles of China in 1923, which became part of the founding ideology of not only Chiang Kai-shek’s Republic of China, but was also adopted by Mao Zedong’s Communist government.

The 3 Principles are the Principles of Minzu, Minquan, and Minsheng. Roughly translated, they refer to ‘government of the people, by the people, and for the people.’

Minzu: that there would be a government uniting the ethnicities of China through a constitution, rather than one dominating imperial monarchy.
Minquan: that the people of China would have a voice in government through voting, recall, initiative and referendum.
and Minsheng: that the government would serve the people, not the other way around.

In 1920s China this was a revolutionary concept, literally. Sun lived a remarkable life, starting out as a small-town doctor before becoming politically active, and ending up President of the Republic of China. He died of liver cancer in 1925.

Sun’s experiences with Confucianism and his education in the West, (He attended school in Hawaii) lent to his ideological formations. He walked a fine line, speaking against both laissez-faire economics and Marxism, though he reached a cooperative agreement with the Communists as leader.

Sun Yat-sen is unusual in that he was revered by both the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China. Parts of the 3 People’s Principles were incorporated into China’s National Anthem.

China’s Arbor Day

Sun Yat-sen

Tree-Planting Day