The third Monday of September in Japan is celebrated as Respect for the Aged Day (敬老の日). This day is also called the red day but it is because in Japanese calendar holidays are printed in red ink. With a population of more than 30% elderly or people who are older than 60, Respect for the aged day is considered special in Japan.
On respect for the aged day (Keirouno hi) grandchildren buy gifts for their grandparents and people call the elderly on the phone to show their respect. It is a national holiday in Japan and TV stations feature elderly during daily programming. Respect for the aged day was first celebrated in 1966 on September 15. In early 2000, Japanese government decided that some holidays must be moved to Mondays to create a 3-day vacation. Since then the respect for the aged day (けいろうのひ) is observed on the 3rd Monday of September.
There are also some unconfirmed rumors that these holidays are promoted by the government because Japanese people worked very hard and did not spend their money on goods.
