What Is Shichi-Go-San? Sweet Traditions & Treats for Kids’ November Festival
Introduction: A Festival Just for Children
Every November in Japan, families come together to celebrate one of the country's most heartwarming traditions—Shichi-Go-San, which means “Seven-Five-Three.” This festival is all about celebrating children's growth, marking important milestones when girls turn three and seven, and boys turn five. Though it isn't a national holiday, it's widely observed around November 15th, with many families choosing the nearest weekend to mark the occasion and gather for the celebration.
On this special day, children dress in elegant kimono or formal attire as families visit shrines to pray for their health, happiness, and future. These days, the celebration often extends beyond a simple shrine visit, with families arranging professional photo shoots or gathering with grandparents to enjoy a festive meal. With its deep roots in tradition, Shichi-Go-San beautifully combines spirituality and joy, creating memories families treasure for years to come.
What Is Shichi-Go-San? History and Meaning Explained
The origins of Shichi-Go-San traces back to the Heian period (794-1185), a time when infant mortality rates were high, and reaching the ages of three, five, or seven was considered a significant milestone. What began as protective rituals within the aristocracy and samurai families gradually spread to the common households by the Edo period, evolving into a joyful tradition celebrated across Japan. Parents once believed the ceremonies would protect children from misfortune, ensuring long life and prosperity. Over time, the focus shifted from warding off danger to simply celebrating children's growth, making Shichi-Go-San a cherished rite of passage for families nationwide.
The ages celebrated in Shichi-Go-San carry deep cultural meaning, drawing on the principles of Japanese numerology, where odd numbers like three, five, and seven are considered lucky and auspicious. Traditionally, each of these ages marked an important milestone: at three, boys and girls were finally allowed to grow out their hair for the first time; at five, boys put on the hakama for the first time, signifying the first step into boyhood; and at seven, girls celebrated their first time wearing a traditional obi, symbolizing the transition toward young womanhood. Together, these ages highlight not only physical and social growth but also the values of luck, prosperity, and family bonds in Japanese culture.
Dressing for the Day: Kimono, Hakama, and Festive Attire
One of the most fascinating aspects of the day is the way families dress their children to celebrate Shichi-Go-San, as clothing beautifully reflects both tradition and joy. Girls wear a proper traditional kimono, often furisode with long, flowing sleeves and vibrant patterns. Three-year-old girls usually wear a padded hifu vest over their kimono, while seven-year-old girls move on to a full obi, sometimes featuring designs unique to their region.
For five-year-old boys, the celebration is marked by wearing their first hakama trousers paired with a haori jacket, proudly displaying the family crest. In earlier times, some even carried a small samurai dagger as a symbol of duty and responsibility. While the kimono remains the traditional choice, many modern families also opt for Western-style formal wear, such as suits or dresses, blending contemporary fashion with cultural tradition. No matter the outfit, the care put into dressing for the occasion underscores the significance of the milestone and adds to the beauty of this beloved festival.
Shichi-Go-San Sweets: The Symbolism Behind Candy
No Shichi-Go-San celebration is complete without sweets, and at the center of it all is chitose ame, or "thousand-year candy." These long, slender red-and-white candies—sometimes stretching up to 15 inches—symbolize joy, purity, and the wish for a long, healthy life. Children receive them in beautifully decorated bags adorned with cranes and turtles. In the past, the number of candy sticks given matched the child’s age, whether three, five, or seven, making the gesture even more personal. Beyond its sugary charm, chitose ame serves as a lasting token of this milestone, carrying with it the blessings and hopes of family and community as children step into the next stage of life.
Chitose-Ame Wrappers: Cranes, Turtles, and Longevity Symbols
In Japan, even the smallest details carry meaning, and Shichi-Go-San sweets are no exception. The gifts reflect not only the child being celebrated but also the family’s hopes, right down to the packaging. The crane, or tsuru, is said to live a thousand years and stands as a timeless symbol of longevity, loyalty, and happiness. As Japan’s national bird, the red-crowned crane often appears in art, ceremonies, and traditions such as senbazuru, where a thousand paper cranes are folded to wish for good fortune. The turtle, or kame, holds equally deep significance, representing wisdom, stability, and protection, with its rounded shell believed to attract wealth and ward off misfortune. Together, these motifs embody the family’s wishes for a child’s healthy growth and bright future. In Japanese culture, packaging is never just decoration; whether for sweets, souvenirs, or seasonal gifts, it serves as a meaningful extension of the message itself.
More Festival Snacks: From Wagashi to Lucky Treats
Beyond the iconic chitose-ame, Shichi-Go-San is also a time for families to enjoy other traditional sweets and snacks filled with symbolic meaning. Delicate wagashi, Japanese confections designed to capture the beauty of the season, often feature autumn motifs like maple leaves, along with auspicious symbols such as cranes and turtles that echo the festival's wishes for longevity and happiness.
Crispy rice crackers are another favorite, sometimes flavored with soy sauce or sprinkled with sesame, carrying both taste and symbolism since rice has long represented prosperity and abundance in Japan. Seasonal fruits like persimmons and chestnuts also make an appearance, their rich flavors embodying the bounty of autumn. Together, these foods not only delight both children and adults but also deepen the spirit of the festival, reminding families that Shichi-Go-San is about honoring tradition while savoring life’s blessings.
November Festivals in Japan: Shichi-Go-San in Context
In Japan, autumn is a season of gratitude and celebration, where family milestones and community gatherings come alive through food, ritual, and symbolism. Shichi-Go-San, with its heartfelt prayers for children’s health and happiness, sits alongside other November events like Tori no Ichi, or “Rooster’s Market,” a traditional Japanese festival held on auspicious days of the Rooster according to the lunar calendar. At shrines and temples across the country, visitors pray for prosperity and purchase ornate kumade rakes decorated with lucky charms to “rake in” good fortune for the year ahead.
Beyond this, November also brings harvest festivals, chrysanthemum exhibitions, and seasonal temple fairs, each blending ritual with food and cultural storytelling. Stalls brim with roasted chestnuts, grilled sweet potatoes, and autumn wagashi shaped like maple leaves or persimmons, all celebrating the bounty of the season. Together, these traditions highlight how Japan’s autumn festivals, whether focused on children, business, or nature, share a common thread: honoring life’s blessings with beauty, symbolism, and the flavors of the season.
A Family Festival: Temples, Shrines, and Sweet Offerings
At the heart of Shichi-Go-San is a visit to a Shinto shrine, where families gather to pay for their children’s well-being. Dressed in beautiful kimono or formal wear, parents lead their little ones to the shrine’s grounds, bowing and clapping in the traditional way as they ask the deities to watch over their child’s health and future. The prayers often focus on blessings for a long and happy life, protection from misfortune, and steady growth. Grandparents often join as well, adding a sense of continuity and shared pride that spans generations. In this way, Shichi-Go-San stands as both a sacred ritual and a cultural tradition, celebrating not only a child’s well-being but also the enduring strength of family across generations.
Shichi-Go-San as a Cultural Snack Guide
Shichi-Go-San is more than just dressing children in elegant kimono or visiting shrines to offer prayers—it’s also a chance to pass down Japan’s rich culinary traditions. Through the festival’s sweets and snacks, children experience cultural storytelling expressed in food: the symbolic chitose-ame for longevity, autumn-themed wagashi that capture the beauty of the season, and rice crackers that connect to Japan's deep reverence for rice as a source of life and prosperity. Enjoyed for both their flavor and meaning, these treats show how food can carry blessings, history, and heritage. Shichi-Go-San is not only a sacred milestone but also a flavorful introduction to the stories and hopes woven into Japanese cuisine.
From Tradition to Today: Experiencing Shichi-Go-San Snacks with Bokksu
Shichi-Go-San wonderfully reflects the heart of Japanese tradition, blending prayers, family, and sweets that carry wishes for health, happiness, and longevity. Though the festival is celebrated in Japan each November, its spirit can be enjoyed anywhere through the flavors that define it. That’s where theBokksu Snack Box comes in, offering authentic Japanese snacks like delicate wagashi and seasonal treats that capture the same cultural storytelling at the heart of Shichi-Go-San. Each box invites subscribers to savor not just the flavors of Japan’s celebrations, but also the traditions and meanings they represent. It’s a delicious reminder that festivals are not just events on the calendar, but experiences to be shared, remembered, and enjoyed wherever you are.
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