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The Festival of Seven Herbs or ''Nanakusa no sekku'' () is the long-standing Japanese custom of eating seven-herb rice porridge (''nanakusa-gayu'') on January 7 (''Jinjitsu''). ==Seven spring flowers== The ''nanakusa'' are seven edible wild herbs of spring. Traditionally, they are: There is considerable variation in the precise ingredients, with common local herbs often being substituted. On the morning of January 7, or the night before, people place the ''nanakusa'', rice scoop, and/or wooden pestle on the cutting board and, facing the good-luck direction, chant "Before the birds of the continent (China) fly to Japan, let's get nanakusa" while cutting the herbs into pieces. The chant may vary. The seventh of the first month has been an important Japanese festival since ancient times. The custom of eating ''nanakusa-gayu'' on this day, to bring longevity and health, developed in Japan from a similar ancient Chinese custom, intended to ward off evil. Since there is little green at that time of the year, the young green herbs bring color to the table and eating them suits the spirit of the New Year. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nanakusa-no-sekku」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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