Are you ready for Thanksgiving? \u00a0With Thanksgiving fast approaching next week, I am sure everyone is excited and perhaps, getting ready for a big family get together. In Japan, although people might not celebrate quite the same way as in US, we actually do have a similar national holiday called “Labor Thanksgiving Day (Kinro-kansha-no-hi, \u52e4\u52b4\u611f\u8b1d\u306e\u65e5) which occurs on November 23rd annually.<\/p>\n
It has the similar meaning as Thanksgiving here in the US \u2013 it was originally started as a fall harvest festival (Niiname-sai,\u00a0\u65b0\u5617\u796d). After World War II, in 1948, the modern holiday was established as\u00a0Labor Thanksgiving Day, which is “for the people to honor labor, celebrate manufacturing and give thanks to one another.”<\/p>\n
In Japan, they don’t eat turkey dinner, or Thanksgiving dinner like we do in the US. However, the idea is the same:\u00a0it is a time when people come together and enjoy the company and companionship of family members and celebrate! \u00a0Often times, when I was growing up, my mom would cook my dad’s favorite dishes on November 23rd for our family to be thankful for his hard work to support us.<\/p>\n
Below is a TV ad from one of the food chain companies called Itoyokado. In this commercial, \u00a0kids start to first think about their dad, how hard he is working on a daily basis and decide to thank him for his hard work on Labor Thanksgiving day. However, they later realize that the one working the hardest might be their mom instead! \u00a0So, they decide to take out their dinner from Itoyokado for her. \u00a0I have included the Japanese translation below.<\/p>\n