Day of Reverence for the Elderly in Japan

Heavy rice ears are another gift for the September holiday.- How old are you?
– 80.
- Well, you're still young, so sit down. I'm 85.

This conversation I heard on the bus, watching two grandmothers in lacy hats and light-colored clothes give way to each other for a long time "for the elderly and the disabled."

Yes, today it is an indisputable fact that the Japanese live the longest on planet Earth. According to the results published by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection in 2005, the average life expectancy of Japanese is 78.53 years (Japanese men are second only to men in Iceland), and Japanese women - 85.49 years - a record value among all countries.

In recent years, speaking about the elderly, in Japan, the expression “silver age” (from the English silver age), and I must say that “silver age” in Japan, for the most part, leads a healthy lifestyle and looks excellent. And, undoubtedly, the Japanese proverb – “To learn new things, turning to the old” – very well reflects the connection of generations in Japan and allows you to understand that the cult of the older generation, in the good sense of the word, is very palpable here. Everything that the country achieved after the devastation left by the Second World War, it owes to them, those who are over 70 today. Therefore, the Day of honoring the elderly is a bright and beloved holiday by everyone.

Not every country has a silver zone.

In 1947, Masao Kadowaki, the mayor of a small village in Hyogo Prefecture, proposed to celebrate the “Day of the Elderly”. The day for the celebration was chosen on September 15 - and the harvest is completed, and the weather is favorable. The council of elders gathered and the motto of the holiday was approved: “To improve life in the village, learning wisdom from the elderly, respecting them and adopting their experience.” Since 1950, the beginning of the celebration was picked up in other villages, and the tradition gradually spread throughout the country. Later, the expression “Day of the Elderly” was considered unethical, and in 1964 the name was changed to “Day of the Elderly”. And since 1966, the day has become a national holiday – the Day of honoring the elderly.

Until 2003, the Day of Reverence for the Elderly was celebrated on September 15, and since 2003, as a result of a partial revision of the National Holidays Act, it has been postponed to the third Monday in September. Thus, in early autumn, the Japanese received a legitimate reason to relax and slowly congratulate their beautiful old people, wishing them a long "third period of life."