Holiday Calendar for Japan in February
From January through December, there are many Japanese holidays and special occasions you can participate in. The following are Japanese national holidays and some of the most important other annual nationwide events. In addition, there are countless local annual festivals
Help us Overview of holidays and many observances in Japan during for 2024-2025 year
February 2024
March 2024
Friday 15 March -
Hōnen Matsuri in Japan (豊年祭, "Harvest Festival" is a fertility festival celebrated every year on March 15 in Japan. Hōnen means prosperous year in Japanese, implying a rich harvest, while a matsuri is a festival)
April 2024
Monday 29 April -
Shōwa Day in Japan (昭和の日 is celebrated in Japan to commemorate the birth date of Emperor Showa or Hirohito, the emperor of pre and post-World war II)
May 2024
Saturday 4 May -
Greenery Day in Japan (みどりの日 - Until 1988, April 29 was celebrated as the birthday of Emperor Showa. It was decided to keep this day a holiday even after his passing away in January 1989 and to name it Greenery Day because of the late Emperor's love of nature. In 2007, April 29 became Showa Day, and Greenery Day was moved to May 4)
Saturday 11 May -
Mother’s Day (Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bonaire, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Dem. Rep., Congo, Rep., Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Gabon, Gambia, Greenland, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Macau, Malaysia, Malta, Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Singapore, Sint Maarten, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Vietnam, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe)
June 2024
Saturday 15 June -
Sanno Festival in Japan (June 10-16th - every even-numbered year. Kanda Festival - mid-May - every odd-numbered year);
Father's Day (Ñelebrated on the third Sunday of June øò Argentina, Aruba, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Kenya, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Peru, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Venezuela, United Kingdom);
National holiday in Japan (in honor of William Adams [1564-1620], also known as Anjin-sama - 三浦按針, was an English navigator, became a samurai. It is believed that he was the first Englishman to live in Japan)
July 2024
Wednesday 17 July -
Gion Matsuri in Kyoto, Japan (祇園祭 is one of the most famous festivals. It lasts all of July and ends with the Yamaboko Junkō parade on July 17 and 24. Initially, it was dedicated to fighting the plague in 869)
Tuesday 23 July -
Letter Writing Day in Japan (The Letter Writing Day can be a bit confusing... as we found on numerous sites that this 'holiday' falls on 7th of December, then again on the official World Letter Writing Day page the date is 1st of September, and Japan issues LWD stamps each year, for over two decades now, on 23rd of July. In any case, its a nice way of reminding people of the existence of letters)
August 2024
September 2024
October 2024
November 2024
December 2024
Thursday 12 December -
Japan Kanji Day (Kanji are Chinese characters used in modern Japanese writing along with hiragana, katakana, Arabic numerals, and romaji. On this day, the kanji of the year is chosen and announced at a special ceremony. It is selected by the Japan Kanji Professionals Society through the national ballot)
January 2025
Also about some Japanese Traditions
The Japanese are not in the habit of taking long periods of annual leave.
Public holidays in Japan (国民の祝日 kokumin no shukujitsu) were established by the Public Holiday Law (国民の祝日に関する法律 Kokumin no Shukujitsu ni Kansuru Hōritsu) of 1948.
A provision of the law establishes that when a national holiday falls on a Sunday, the next working day shall become a public holiday, known as furikae kyūjitsu (振替休日, literally "transfer holiday"). Additionally, any day that falls between two other national holidays shall also become a holiday, known as kokumin no kyūjitsu (国民の休日, literally "citizens’ holiday").
Although the word matsuri is always translated as ’festival’, some festivals and holidays are more correctly included in the nenchu gyoji or annual events originally observed by the Imperial court.
In addition to the annual holidays listed above, certain events of celebration or mourning related to the imperial family are also treated as national holidays in the year in which they occur.
In 2019, the Emperor is expected to abdicate on April 30, followed by the ascension to the throne of the new Emperor on May 1 and the enthronement ceremony on October 22. As a result, May 1 and October 22 are also expected to become national holidays.
