What you need to know:

This year’s fall equinox happens on 23rd September

Japan celebrates Fall Equinox as a public holiday.

The Fall Equinox usually happens on either 23 or 24th September and is a public holiday. The festival not only celebrates the coming of autumn, but also serves as a time of rememberence for ancestors.

The tradition of Autumn Equinox in Japan

As one of the most well-established holidays, the Fall Equinox is celebrated throughout Japan and has been for some time. There are two ideas of the origin of this festival. Most obviously, the first story is that the holiday has its origins among the farm-folk of Japan who wanted to celebrate the changing of seasons.On this day, daytime and nighttime have equal lengths. The day can change from year to year due to leap years, but it usually occurs on 23rd September.Starting on this day until the winter solstice comes, the night-time will have longer hours than the day time.

The other name for the Fall or Autumn Equinox is ‘Higan No Chu-Nichi’. The second account of the origins of Higan No Chu-Nichi is from old Buddhist teachings. Buddhist teaching decrees that this day should be used to pay respect for dead relatives, and so it’s possible that this is the true origin of the festival.People clean their family graves and bring flowers, incense and traditional Japanese food.Especially popular is round-shaped food!

Japan Fall Equinox Traditions, Customs and Activities

As we already mentioned, this festival is primarily used to pay respect to deceased relatives. The time is therefore a popular time for families to come together and sweep the graves of their family members. This festival is celebrated for one week, although usually not all of that time is taken as holiday.

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