Today the Carp Fly over Honolulu! “Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable."
Plato
Hawaiian Skies"Einstein was a man who could ask immensely simple questions. And what his work showed is that when the answers are simple too, then you can hear God thinking."
Jacob Bronowski
A volunteer serenades visitors to Queen's Medical Center"It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it."
Jacob Bronowski
Punchbowl Crater Through a Window"Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light."
Aloha & Welcome to May fifth, Tango-no-sekku, the Japanese Boy's Day Festival that is also celebrated here in Hawaii. The 5th day of the 5th month has been the day to celebrate boys for centuries. Tango-no-sekku means: "First Day of the Horse" because the strength, stamina, and courage of horses symbolize masculine qualities that boys should emulate.
Another animal associated with boy's day is the carp. This powerful and determined fish is also regarded as a fitting example for boys. Dr. Freud might point out that the carp itself, long, cylindrical, and bold is a fitting representation of the most fundamental badge of manhood.
Girl's Day is celebrated with the display of dolls. Boy's day, too, has it's own characteristic dolls: armored samurai warriors; nonetheless, it is the colorful carp banners (koi-nobori) one for every boy in the family, flown from bamboo poles outside the home, that are the overriding visual characteristic of the holiday. The largest carp honors the oldest son, the smallest, the youngest.
Today, in Japan, May fifth is celebrated as Children's Day. But here in Hawaii we keep many old customs that the plantation workers brought with them. They intended to maintain their ethnic identities, but the magic of Hawaii has painted most every imported custom with our own unique qualities. So let's celebrate boys, carp, AND girls, as we continue to appreciate everything that makes our island home
unique.
A L O H A! Cloudia
