Shichi-Go-San is a Japanese festival. Japanese people celebrate this festival on 15 November every year.
Shichi-Go-San means "seven five and three" because it is the festival celebrating children who turn seven five and three years of age. Japanese parents celebrate Shichi-Go-San as their boys turn three and five, and as their girls turn three and seven.
Japanese people think that these ages are very important. At the age of seven, a young girl wears an obi for the first time. An obi is a piece of cloth which they wear around their waist with a kimono. At the age of five, a young boy wears his first hakama pants in public. These pants are very important in Japanese culture. The age of three is very important in Japanese culture because at that age children are allowed to let their hair grow.
People believe that this festival began around one thousand years ago. They chose fifteen of November for the festival because they thought that was a day of good luck for all Japanese people.
Some children wear special, traditional Japanese costumes on that day. More often now, the children wear Western-style clothes.
