May 5th is Children’s Day in Korea - a day to celebrate children. In Korea, parents take children to parks, zoos, etc… to celebrate the day. I found it interesting that these are the same things that my family has always done to celebrate our arrival days.

Last year, we didn’t do anything special. Since we have a tendency to lean towards spoiling our son, I think my son thinks that every day is Children’s Day. This year, purely by chance, we will celebrate Children’s Day Korean-style. A local Ann Arbor Korean church hosts a picnic each spring/summer for Korean adoptees and their families and I always hear about it through one of the support groups that I belong to. This year, the picnic will be held on May 5th.

We attended the picnic last year and it was enjoyable. I suspect that it will be a little more comfortable this year because I’ve been there before. My son is a little older this year and perhaps the picnic will stir up more questions. Though, I suspect that he’ll be far more interested in the slide and the swings.

I was trying to think of some ways that families could celebrate Children’s Day Korean-style. It occurred to me (after a few minutes) that there really wasn’t a need. Children’s Day in Korea is about the children. In Korea, it is not used as a day to teach their children about their culture. It’s a day of play. So, my suggestion is that everyone should have a day of play on May 5th. After all, we’re all someone’s child.

Ideas:
• Go to the zoo
• Go to the park
• Go to the amusement park
• Go to the museum (a fun one)
• Go to the mall (which is fun for some people)
• Go skating, hiking, climbing, etc…
• Go swimming (if it’s warm enough – I live in the mid-west)
• Go fly a kite

If you would like to comment, but not on this site, please send me an e-mail at adoptkoreablog@adoptionmail.com.