Silver Week

Silver Week (シルバーウィーク, Shirubā Wīku) is a new Japanese term applied to a string of consecutive holidays in September. In 2009, the term has gained popularity, referring to the unusual occurrence of a weekend followed by three Japanese public holidays in September. The holidays are:

• Respect for the Aged Day, third Monday of September
• Autumnal Equinox Day, astronomically determined, but usually September 23
• Kokumin no kyūjitsu, the day in between the two other holidays

Japanese law stipulates that if there is only one non-holiday in between two public holidays, that day should become an additional holiday, known as a Kokumin no kyūjitsu. It is unusual for September to get this extra holiday. In Japanese pseudo-anglicism, "silver" is a commonly used, polite adjective for referring to the elderly, deriving from their gray hair. The holiday period is sometimes used for foreign travel.

Prior to 2009, a different definition of Silver Week referred to the days in November around the time of Labour Thanksgiving Day. Historians have identified Silver Week itself as a commercial invention of the 1950s film industry, keen to promote cinema attendance during the holiday by reference to the popularity of leisure pursuits during the better-established Golden Week, yet another invention of the Japanese film industry. However, this older definition of Silver Week did not catch on nor did it make it to some dictionaries.

September occurrences

The five day break occurs in the following years:

• September 19 — September 23: 2009, 2015, 2026, 2037, 2043, 2054, 2071, 2099
• September 18 — September 22: 2032, 2049, 2060, 2077, 2088, 2094