oChildren's Day (子供の日, Kodomo no Hi),
also known as Boys' Day or the Feast of Banners, traditionally celebrated
as Tango no Sekku (端午の節句).
Note that "kokumin no kyūjitsu" or "citizen's holiday" is a
generic term for any official holiday. The 4th of May was, until
2007, an unnamed but official holiday because of a rule that converts any day
between two holidays into a new holiday. …
History
The National Holiday Laws, promulgated in July
1948, declared nine official holidays. Since many were concentrated in a week
spanning the end of April to early May, many leisure-based industries
experienced spikes in their revenues. The film industry was no exception. In
1951, the film Jiyū Gakkō recorded higher
ticket sales during this holiday-filled week than any other time in the year
(including New Year's and Obon). This prompted the
managing director of Daiei Film Co., Ltd. to dub the week
"Golden Week" based on the Japanese radio lingo “golden time,” which denotes the
period with the highest listener ratings.[5] At the time, 29
April was a national holiday celebrating the birth of the Shōwa Emperor. Upon his death in 1989,
the day was renamed "Greenery Day."[3] In 2007, Greenery Day was moved to 4 May,
and 29 April was renamed Shōwa Day to commemorate the
late Emperor.[3]
Current practice
Many Japanese nationals take paid time off
during this holiday, and some companies are closed down completely and give
their employees time off. Golden Week is the longest vacation period of the
year for many Japanese workers. Two other Japanese holidays are observed for
most or all of a week: Japanese New Year in January
and Obon Festival in August.
