the holidays that a country celebrates can tell you a lot about the people that live in that country. i find it interesting to compare the different types of things that people in different countries deem worthy enough to honor and commemorate. take the US for example. about half of US federal holidays celebrate either wars or heros. in contrast, half of japans national holidays celebrate either nature or the stages of life. the differences in what each culture reveres fascinates me.

of the 11 federal holidays americans observe, i count 6 that are dedicated to various wars and heros. war-themed days include memorial day, which honors people who died in wars, independence day, which celebrates the declaration of independence during the american revolution, and veterans day, which honors soldiers who served in the military. days that commemorate heros include martin luther king day, presidents day, and columbus day.

japan, on the other hand, celebrates nature and the stages of life with 7 of their 15 national holidays:

__nature__

• vernal equinox day (春分の日): celebrates the spring equinox with a focus on admiring nature and all living things.
• greenery day (みどりの日): a day to enjoy and be thankful for natures greenery.
• marine day (海の日): honors the oceans and the blessings that they provide.
• autumnal equinox day (秋分の日): celebrates the autumn equinox while also honoring ones ancestors.

__stages of life__

• coming of age day (成人の日): congratulates everyone who turns 20 that year.
• childrens day (こどもの日): honors children and celebrates their happy personalities.
• respect-for-the-aged day (敬老の日): celebrates long life and old people.

so there you have it: half of american holidays honor wars and heros while half of japanese holidays celebrate nature and the stages of life. so what does this tell us about the difference in cultures? id like to think theres a strong relationship between what people celebrate and how they view the world. are holidays determined by a society's history or their location in the world? or is it possible that holidays help shape society into conforming to what its rulers desire? i would assume its a bit of both, really.

id rather not make too many judgments on american and japanese cultures based on something as trivial as holidays, so ill make just this one weak conjecture: based solely on holidays, it seems clear to me that america loves wars and heros while japan instead appreciates nature and the stages of life.