Hello Dearies,
It's been a wonderful week. The weather has been amazing, the company even more so, and
I haven’t had class for five days. No, I haven’t been slacking off, I’ve been enjoying Golden Week. For those of you with no knowledge whatsoever about the wonderful phenomenon known as Golden Week, here is a brief explanation.
Golden Week is a small series of holidays held from the end of April through the first week of May. There is a total of four official holidays: Showa Day, Constitution Memorial Day. Greenery Day, and Children’s Day. The holidays fall on these days respectively: April 29th, May 3rd, 4th, and 5th. These holidays fall so close together that it is a common practice for many Japanese companies, businesses, and schools to shut down and enjoy a little vacation.
Showa Day is a holiday honoring the birthday of Emperor Showa. He was the Japanese Emperor from 1926 to 1989. There were a lot of important events during his reign such as a few attempted coups, World War II, and the post-war economic boom. Constitution Memorial Day is the day that the current Japanese constitution came into effect and is meant to be a reflection of the meaning of democracy. Originally, Greenery day was in effect another celebration of Emperor Showa’s Birthday. From “Birthday of the Emperor” to “Greenery Day,” this holiday in particular is meant to represent the Emperor’s connection to and love of plants. One is meant to use this day as an opportunity to work with nature and show gratitude for the blessings it gives us. Children’s Day is a day for celebrating children and parents and has been held on the fifth day of the fifth month since ancient times. Carp-shaped streamers and Kintaro Dolls are popular sights at this time and represent traditional family dynamics and values.
So I sit here with a lovely bit of tea and toast and enjoy reflecting on the week. Admittedly I spent a good deal of it in my room doing what one is expected to while on vacation - absolutely nothing. It was glorious! The remainder of my time was spent on homework and visiting with friends. We had a lovely meal together this weekend at a cute little restaurant. They had really good melon soda floats. The restaurant was small but cozy and the company was excellent.
Afterwards we all went to go see Captain America: Civil War. I was so excited to see it. My good friend Casey and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves while quietly flipping out in the front row when anything happened. The film was in English but it had Japanese subtitles running across the bottom. I am willing enough to admit that most of it was too advanced for me to understand but I did get the odd hiragana right. Hopefully I’ll improve even more once school starts up on Monday.