 |
| koinobori, collage, photo & digital |
A busy Thursday ...
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
This date is observed to commemorate the Mexican Army's
victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla, May 5, 1862,
In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is often mistaken
to be Mexico's Independence Day celebrated on September 16.
A great celebratory day especially here in SoCal.
And, Happy Kodomo no Hi !
Koinobori, meaning "carp streamer" in Japanese,
are carp-shaped wind socks traditionally flown in Japan
to celebrate a national holiday ...
Children's Day, or "Kodomo no Hi".
My first trip to Japan in 1979, I learned of this holiday
as 'Tango no Sekku", or Boy's Day.
At that time ...
koinobori, or carp streamer designated sons in the household.
Traditionally, the above would represent a family of three,
The black carp (Magoi) at the top represents the father,
the red carp (Higoi) represents the mother,
and the last carp represents the child (traditionally son),
with an additional carp added for each subsequent child
with color and position denoting their relative age.
Now, the koinobori can depict both boys and girls.
A beautiful sight, villages and cities sometime extend lines
to celebrate their mutual children.
The carp was chosen as the streamer symbol because
it is considered the most spirited fish --
so full of energy and power that it can
fight its way up swift-running streams and cascades.
So many interesting customs & celebrations to enjoy.
82 degrees, Santa Ana, CA
For FB Throwback Thursday ...
 |
| me, Marti West, Nadine Andrews Massey, Nancy Herman Cornick, 1958 |
A smile for Thursday ...
No comments:
Post a Comment