In Brazil, we have some commemorative dates that are inspired by the foods we love most. There's the day of hamburger, from the Pizza, of coffee, beer, barbecue and many others that either piggyback on international celebrations or are established by law. But, in Japan, what defines these special dates are puns and brilliant ideas.
The website Atlas Obscura brings some of these exquisite aspects of Japanese creativity. Banana day, for example, has nothing to do with the history of food in the country. Separating all the syllables of the word “banana”, we arrive at the numbers eight (ba) and seven (nana). That's why the fruit rich in potassium is celebrated on August 7 — in Japan, the month comes before the day.
Numerical puns have been used in Japan for a long time, even before the calendar we follow gained a thousand places. “The language is naturally suitable for puns, as the language has few phonemes”, explains the publication. According to linguist Heiyo Nagashima, cited by the website, 111 phonemes give rise to at least 450,000 words. So many homonym possibilities are a full plate (excuse the pun) for those who like wordplay.
Strawberry Day is another one that drinks from this source. The Japanese term for the berry is ichigo; when the phonemes are separated, they become the numbers one (ichi) and cingo (go). Hence they defined that the ephemeris takes place on January 15th or every 15th.
Simple, right? Until you know all the engineering to celebrate shortcake day (a cupcake usually filled with strawberries). They celebrate dessert every 22nd. Do you know why? Because, on the calendar, the 22nd is immediately below the 15th (strawberry day). You can open the calendar on your computer or cell phone to see!
Another curious date dedicated to food is November 11th, also represented by 11/11. This date was chosen to celebrate pocky, a traditional Japanese cookie in the shape of a very thin stick, like the sequence of numbers 1 that represents the day.
Meat and honey also receive attention from consumers, restaurants and markets on their special dates thanks to the healthy habit of thinking about a brilliant idea. Meat (niku) corresponds to the number two (ni) and nine (ku), which is why there is always a promotion every 29th or 9th of February. Already the day of honey (hani) falls in August (there is) on the second day of the month (ni).
