Japanese events
十月（じゅうがつ）
October is a great month to celebrate the coming of Autumn in Japan. Some families enjoy hiking and viewing the autumn leaves. Also these days Japanese kids enjoy celebrating Halloween.
The second Monday of October is たいくのひ, or Sports Day, a national holiday to encourage healthy minds and bodies through physical activity. This date rememgers the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, which started on October 10th. It is a national holiday.
十一月（じゅういちがつ)
November 15 is Shichi-go-san, a day of prayer for the healthy growth of young children. Shichi-go-san literally means seven, five, three. Boys and girls aged three, boys aged five, and girls aged seven visit a Shinto shrine with their parents. Most girls wear kimonos when making their Shichi-go-san visit, while boys wear haori jackets and hakama trousers. In recent years, though, some children are wearing Western-style dresses and suits.
Parents usually buy chitose-ame (long-life candy) for the children. The candy is shaped like a stick and comes in a bag with pictures of cranes and turtles on it--(these two animals that are symbols of long life in Japan).
十二月(じゅうにがつ)
The final day of the year, December 31, is called おみそか in Japan. Families spend time cleaning their house and getting ready for the new year. Many families eat toshi-koshi soba (noodles) hoping that their life will be stretched out as long as the noodles.
At midnight Buddhist temples ring the temple bell 108 times. Buddhist belief that humans have 108 "troubles" they have to overcome in order to be happy, and each ring is thought to drive away one trouble.
