respect-for-the-aged day

 

September 15 is a national holiday in Japan called Keirou-no-hi (respect for the aged day), although now-a-days the day is always celebrated on the second Monday of the month, to turn it into a long weekend.  People often take their grandparents out-- maybe for dinner, maybe for an overnight stay at a hot springs inn. I  was once a part of a women's group that would serve up an elaborate luncheon on this day with various entertainments for the elderly ladies at our church.  

As a joke, I gave my husband a respect-for-the-aged card (the one posted above) this year because he's 61 and we don't have any grandchildren yet to celebrate it for him. But really, I think you have to be over 65 to qualify as "early elderly," and most people who were interviewed on the street in Japan thought that you don't qualify even for that until age 70. If I remember correctly, anyone past age 80 is called "late elderly." But the Japanese are, overall, a long-lived people. The turtle, as you probably know, symbolizes longevity.