Celebrate Children!

May 5th is Children's Day, a holiday for celebrating the health and happiness of Japanese children. It is also a day for children to honor and give thanks to their parents. Traditionally, May 5th was celebrated as Boy's Day, a day to honor young boys, and families with sons hang carp streamers outside their homes. For those of you who are worried about fairness, girls also have a holiday, Girl's Day, celebrated March 3. The carp streamers are called Koinobori, and they look like colorful fish-shaped windsocks.

One carp is flown for each boy in the family, with the largest one (usually black) representing the father, and smaller carp representing each son. The youngest son is represented by the smallest flag. The carp represents strength and determination to overcome obstacles, qualities demonstrated when it swims upstream against swift currents. It is a spirited, energetic, and powerful fish. These traits are also desirable in young boys, which is how they came to be a symbol of Boy's Day.


An impressive display of carp flags is flown over the Higa River just north of my house, where I took these photos this weekend.

Peter Update - Peter has been participating in the Marine Corps Martial Art Program (MCMAP). From what I can tell, it is just a mishmash of various forms of martial arts designed to teach marines how to fight with their hands should the need arise. Peter has now reached the second level of the program, gray belt. I believe there are five levels total. Black belt is obviously the highest, and Peter says there is no hope of him ever reaching it. We're into the countdown days of this deployment!