Japanese

1 Jan (Thu)	Ganjitsu (New Year's Day)	New Year's Day celebration which, in Japan, is sometimes extended for up to three days, during which businesses are closed, families are together, decorations are put up and the first visit of the year is paid to local Shinto shrines.
3 Feb (Tue)	Setsubun (Bean Scattering)	In Japan, Setsubun is the day before the beginning of each season, but is generally used to refer to the Spring Setsubun, properly called Risshun, celebrated yearly on 3rd February. Spring Setsubun is traditionally celebrated by the head of the household throwing pan-heated soybeans out the door, while chanting "Demons out! Luck in!" At Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines all over the country, there are celebrations for Setsubun: priests and invited guests will throw roasted soy beans (some wrapped in gold or silver foil), small envelopes with money, sweets, candies and other prizes. Families will also put up small decorations of fish heads and holly leaves on their house entrances so that bad spirits will not enter.
21 Mar (Sat)	Shubun No Hi (Higan)	Japanese festival marking the Spring Equinox. Its full name is Higan No Chi-Nichi and, as with a similar festival marking the autumn equinox, harmony and balance are the themes. It is traditional for sutras to be recited and many Japanese visit their family tombs to pay respect to dead ancestors. People weed their family tombs and leave flowers, incense and ohagi (sweet rice balls covered with red bean paste) for the spirits of the dead.
8 Apr (Wed)	Hanamatsuri	Also known as Flower Festival, this is a festival celebrated by Japanese Buddhists and marks the birthday of Buddha Shakyamuni. The flowers accentuate the tradition that the Buddha was born in a garden, so floral shrines are made and an image of the infant Buddha is set in it and bathed. Note that Theravada Buddhists celebrate Buddha's birth, enlightenment and passing away all on the same day latter in the year.
13 - 16 Aug (4 days)	O-Bon	Japanese Buddhist festival honoring the departed spirits of dead ancestors. During this festival the spirits of these ancestors are welcomed back home with feasting and dancing. Fires are often lit to illuminate their arrival and departure. This festival has evolved into a family reunion holiday, during which people from the big cities return to their home towns and visit and clean their ancestors' graves.
23 Sep (Wed)	Shubun No Hi (Higan)	Japanese festival marking the Autumn Equinox. Its full name is Higan No Chu-Nichi and many of the customs associated with this day resemble those practice at the Spring Equinox festival of Higan No Chi-Nichi.
15 Nov (Sun)	Shichi-Go-San	Shichi-Go-San is a traditional rite of passage and festival day in Japan for three and seven year-old girls and three and five year-old boys, held annually on November 15. The children are dressed up in fine new clothes and taken to a Shinto shrine to pray for their future well-being. As Shichi-Go-San is not a national holiday, it is often observed on the nearest weekend.
31 Dec (Thu)	Omisoka	Omisoka, or New Year's Eve, is the second-most important day in the Japanese tradition because it is the final day of the old year and the eve of New Year's Day, the most important day of the year. The festival prepares for the new year by cleansing Shinto home shrines and Buddhist altars. The bells of Buddhist temples are struck 108 times to warn against the 108 evils to be overcome.