Japan Fall Equinox Date: September 23
Japan celebrates Fall Equinox as a public holiday.
Autumnal Equinox Day is on September 23 or 24, it is a national holiday in Japan. This day not only signals the changing of seasons but also it is a day to go visit the graves of dead relatives.
Japan Fall Equinox History
Fall Equinox Day is one of the most established Japanese National Holidays. Old Japanese traditions believe that this holiday has a double origin. Some believe that this holiday originated from the agricultural society of Old Japan to celebrate the changing of the seasons. On this day, daytime and nighttime have equal lengths. Due to leap year, the actual date of the Fall Equinox Day may change from year to year, but is generally around September 23rd. Starting on this day until the winter solstice comes, the night-time will have longer hours than the day time. Autumnal Equinox Day in Japan is also called HIGAN NO CHU-NICHI. The other origin of this holiday is believed to be based on Buddhist traditions. Based on old Buddhist teachings many Japanese will visit their family graves on this day midway through the week of HIGAN in order to pay their respects to their dead ancestors. People clean their family graves and bring flowers, incense and traditional Japanese food. It is believed that their ancestors’ spirits fancy round food!
Japan Fall Equinox Traditions, Customs and Activities
Like many other cultures around the world, the Japanese set aside the period around this time to pay their respects to the graves of their ancestors. This is one of the times when families have the chance to pull out the weeds and clean up the graves. The Japanese families will be engaged in these rituals during the one-week period straddling the equinoxes (higan) of spring and autumn.
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