Marine Day used to be celebrated on the third Monday of July as part of the government’s “Happy Monday” reform where a few holidays with fixed dates were moved to Mondays to give the people a couple of long weekends. With this kind of holiday, it is said that the children were the happiest upon the announcement of the holiday as their summer vacations usually began on July 21st.
I asked my Japanese friend what the holiday means and receive a blank response. He doesn’t really know why the day is celebrated, mainly because it doesn’t have a long history or cultural traditions such as Children’s Day or New Year’s. So basically, Marine Day doesn’t need hanging carp streamers or visiting the temple.
Instead, many visit the Japanese coastline. Marine Day might not have traditions set in stone, but a visit to the beach to bask in the beauty of nature is celebration enough.
Last Monday, I went to the beach and the weather is perfect for a quick beach trip. Surprisingly the beach is not crowded., I was expecting that many people were playing around the coastline. I just stayed there for a while, breathe fresh sea air, drink a mango shake, and went back home. It was a typical day but I enjoyed it a lot.
JOHN
