Have you heard of Shichi-Go-San? Literally meaning “seven-five-three”, it’s one of the most important celebrations for children in Japan, whereby three and seven-year-old girls and five-year-old boys visit a Shinto shrine with their parents to give thanks and pray for health and happiness. Although it’s not a national holiday, it’s a traditional rite of passage said to have originated during the Heian period (fun fact – 15 is the sum of 3,5, and 7, and the odd numbers are considered lucky in East Asian numerology).
Most girls dress in kimono and boys often wear haori jackets and hakama trousers, then their parents usually buy chitose-ame (“thousand-year candy”) decorated with cranes and turtles; both symbolic of long, prosperous lives.