Culture Day, which falls on November 3rd, is a national holiday when people are encouraged to love freedom and peace and to promote culture. The love of freedom and peace are declared in the Constitution of Japan , which was established after World War ?. Historically, November 3rd was celebrated as the birthday of the Meiji Emperor and this day of feast was called Meiji-setsu. After World War , the Constitution of Japan was promulgated on November 3rd, 1946. In 1948, this date was designated as Culture Day in commemoration of this event.
Prior to Culture Day, the government selects people who have contributed to the development of culture. These people are regarded as people of cultural merit and called bunka-korosha in Japanese. The people of cultural merit are selected from among many people who are engaged in a wide range of fields in science and the arts including literature and music. Then, their names are announced by the media on Culture Day. The government also chooses several people from among them who have made the greatest contributions to the development of culture and awards them the Order of Cultural Merit, which is called bunka-kunsho in Japanese. A ceremony is held every year at the Imperial Palace on Culture Day to celebrate the winners of the Order of Cultural Merit, and the Emperor gives medals to the winners at the ceremony.
Many cultural events are held throughout Japan during the period around Culture Day. Art, film, drama, broadcasting, and music festivals take place at this time. Many schools also have culture festivals where students use cultural activities to display what they have done.