The Happy Monday System (ハッピーマンデー制度, Happī Mandē Seido?) refers to a set of modifications to Japanese law in 1998 and 2001 to move a number of public holidays in Japan to Mondays, creating a three-day weekend for those who normally have a five-day work week.
| Date | Moved to Monday | English name | Local name | Romanization |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1 | No | New Year's Day | 元日 | Ganjitsu |
| 2nd Monday of January | Since 2000 | Coming of Age Day | 成人の日 | Seijin no hi |
| February 11 | No | National Foundation Day | 建国記念の日 | Kenkoku kinen no hi |
| March 20 or March 21 | No | Vernal Equinox Day | 春分の日 | Shunbun no hi |
| April 29 | No | Shōwa Day | 昭和の日 | Shōwa no hi |
| May 3 | No | Constitution Memorial Day | 憲法記念日 | Kenpō kinenbi |
| May 4 | No | Greenery Day | みどりの日 | Midori no hi |
| May 5 | No | Children's Day | 子供の日 | Kodomo no hi |
| 3rd Monday of July | Since 2003 | Marine Day | 海の日 | Umi no hi |
| 3rd Monday of September | Since 2003 | Respect for the Aged Day | 敬老の日 | Keirō no hi |
| September 23 or September 24 | No | Autumnal Equinox Day | 秋分の日 | Shūbun no hi |
| 2nd Monday of October | Since 2000 | Health and Sports Day | 体育の日 | Taiiku no hi |
| November 3 | No | Culture Day | 文化の日 | Bunka no hi |
| November 23 | No | Labour Thanksgiving Day | 勤労感謝の日 | Kinrō kansha no hi |
| December 23 | No | The Emperor's Birthday | 天皇誕生日 | Tennō tanjōbi |
Famous quotes containing the words happy, monday and/or system:
“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.
For he today that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition.
And gentlemen in England now abed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“I have yfounde in myn astrologye,
As I have looked in the moone bright,
That now a Monday next, at quarter night,
Shal falle a rain, and that so wilde and wood,
That half so greet was nevere Noees flood.”
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?–1400)
“Predatory capitalism created a complex industrial system and an advanced technology; it permitted a considerable extension of democratic practice and fostered certain liberal values, but within limits that are now being pressed and must be overcome. It is not a fit system for the mid- twentieth century.”
—Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)