Respect For The Aged Day

Some news for OLD PEOPLE like you!  The Japanese are known for quite a few traditions, some good and some bad. But one that seems a good idea is 'Respect for Old Aged Day'. Oops! I see it just passed and missed it. It's not nice when an old timer like me missed that one. I should blame it on my failing memory. We oldies love to use that excuse.  Oh, wait..... I forget to zip my fly again and wanted to take care of that.

Anyway, that holiday is a new one, but it's catching on so much that other nations are thinking about celebrating it too. It was established as a national holiday in 1966 to express respect for the elders in the community, and to recognize and thank them for their contributions to society and last but not least, celebrate their long lives.  On Respect for the Aged Day, the media in Japan fawns over the old crowd, does feature stories on the oldest person in Japan, and encourages the average citizen to do something nice for grandma and grandpa. You know, like stop putting grandpa in that chair that slopes so you can collect the change from his pocket when he is hoisted out of the chair.

Besides robbing grandpa the holiday encourages family members to visit the graves of deceased elders to show respect, cleaning the site and adding flowers. Respect for the Aged Day is also when we are supposed to talk to the family about the things elders have done to make life on earth more pleasant. Uh, you can leave out those stories of grandma passing out from too much wine at the family picnic. However, paying a car detailer to clean granny's vomit stains in your car did a great service to the car detail workers employed there.

We are also supposed to do something nice for our elders on that day. I might have trouble finding any one elder to me, but if I do, taking them flowers, making them breakfast or dinner, or taking them out for a day at the movies or to shop are recommended tributes. When you take granny to the mall, be careful that she doesn't collide with a teenage skate boarder or try to flash them for old time sake.

I suspect that this holiday will only work well in Japan. The Japanese culture always revered the aged and there are a lot of oldies in Japan. The number of people over the age of 100 is expected to reach 32,000 next month. One in five Japanese are aged 65 or older and Japanese women can expect to live to see their 85th birthday. In most of the world, the young don't pamper grandpa and grandma. Instead they say a few prayers that those old coots will die so they can get their inheritance. Hmmm I better stop now and check my will. Happy Respect for the Aged day.