Traditional Japanese Birthdays

by Derek
(Boise, Idaho)

In my culture which is Japanese, we celebrate all of our birthdays on the 1st of every January. This is the more ancient style of celebrating a birthday in Japanese culture.

Many have westernized and celebrate on their actual date of birth.

For our special day, which also marks the new year on all calendars, we start off by only wearing new clothes. New clothes are an important aspect of our culture for birthdays.

Next, we head out to our makeshift shrine and pray to our ancestors. After this, we have a ceremonial green tea. Later at night, we hold a party for all our friends and family to bring in the new year and our birthdays.