Spring Higan · Higan

Culture of origin: Buddhist · Cultural

Holiday sources: Buddhism

Higan, "the other shore", is the Japanese reading of a Chinese term for nirvana, set against this shore of the cycle of rebirth. It is kept only in Japan, by nearly every Buddhist school, for seven days from three days before to three days after each equinox, in the mild weather of the season. People return to their home towns to pay their respects to their ancestors, with ceremonies at the family tomb. The equinox itself, Shunbun no Hi, is a national holiday "to praise nature and cherish living things"; as the law names no date, the National Astronomical Observatory announces it each February for the following year in the Official Gazette.