May 5 is Children’s day- kodomo no-hi,
Originally it was called Boy’s festival for celebrating boy’s growing-up
but now it has become a day to celebrate children in general.
On this day, families with boys set our dolls for the Boy’s festival
patterned after warriors and heroes, and fly carp streamers.
Kabuto
Carp Streamers-
Carp have the strength to even swim up waterfalls and long been taken as symbols of success in
Shoubu-yu
The day also features the practice from long ago of taking a bath with flag
reputed to have a medical effect.
-Chimaki,Kashiwa-mochi
it is also essential to make an offering of the traditional Japanese confections of rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves and rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves.