Did you know today is ‘Respect for the Aged Day’ in Japan? Also known as Keiro no Hi, this public holiday is a day to honour, celebrate and take care of the country’s older citizens.
Respect for the Aged Day started in a small village in Japan as a day to be kind to older people and ask for their wisdom and advice about ways to improve life in the village. In time it became a national holiday and is now celebrated across Japan on the third Monday in September.
The resulting long weekend allows those working during the week to visit their parents and grandparents, with those who cannot return home in person often encouraged to call or write.
Volunteers deliver food and basic necessities to homebound older people. Schools will organise performances for local retirement and care homes, or host something in the community which all older people are invited to attend. These are known as keirokai ceremonies.
On Respect for the Aged Day, organisations and companies also host special events to help older people living in their community. Japanese media also get involved, reporting on the population and highlighting the oldest people in the country. Often the oldest among communities are invited to interview so they can talk about their experiences and share their wisdom opinions on ageing.
Unlike other holidays or themed days, ‘Respect for the Aged Day’ focuses less on raising awareness of and addressing inequalities in society and more on showing kindness, learning from older generations and intergenerational activities.
Of course it’s easy to say we should be doing these things all year round! And many people do.
In fact, Age Scotland have a campaign running just now called ‘Share What You Love’ where we are encouraging everyone to share something that they love doing with an older person. Too many older people feel cut off from society and we want to show Scotland’s older generation that we really care about them. From inviting an older neighbour round to help bake a cake or taking your great uncle to a football game, everyone has something they could invite an older person along to do.
So whether you always celebrate ‘Respect for the Aged Day’ or you just want to make a difference, visit sharewhatyou.love to find out how you can get involved.