Holiday A Day

Hello and welcome to Holiday a Day, your daily dose of Holidays, festivals, celebrations and remembrances from around the world.   I’m Jeffrey Johnson   On August 4th 2014 we celebrate   Akita Kanto Matsuri   One of the three main festivals of the Tohoku region in Japan, the festival is dedicated to the five grains; wheat, rice, beans, foxtail millet and Chinese millet.   During the festival bamboo poles, reaching over 26 feet in height with 46 paper lanterns shaped like rice bags are carried by young people. These kanto, as they are called are used to drive away evil spirits. Weighing up to 130 pounds, the kanto are paraded through the town by people wearing short jackets, hachimaki headbands, white tabi socks and sori straw sandals while not using their hands.  The poles are supported using hips shoulders and foreheads.   Happy Akita Kanto Matsuri!   If I have missed anything for this date or if you think I might miss a future holiday let me know by emailing me at holidayaday@gmail.com or you can tweet me