Boat Race Day


Boat Race Day (Okinawa, Japan)

May; 14th day of fifth lunar monthOn Okinawa, the largest of the Ryukyu Islands southwest of Japan, the 14th day of the fifth month is both a religious festival and a sporting event. In Minatogawa, for example, this is the Festival of the Gods of the Sea . The villagers first go to the religious sites to make offerings and pray, and then they attend the boat races held in the estuary of the river. In Taira, it is the day on which fishing canoes from Taira race against competitors from the neighboring village of Kawata.
CONTACTS:
Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau
1831-1 Oroku
Naha, Okinawa 901-0152 Japan
81-9-8898-3000; fax: 81-9-8898-2202
www.ocvb.or.jp/index.php
SOURCES:
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 376

Celebrated in: Japan

Boat Race Day (Thames River)Late March or early AprilThis is the annual rowing race between the Oxford and Cambridge University "eights" (as the crews of the eight-oared rowing shells are called) that takes place on the Thames River in England. The race is scheduled to be held on a day when there's an incoming spring tide, which usually occurs in late March or early April. Beginning in Putney and ending four-and-a-half miles downriver at Mortlake, the race attracts large crowds of spectators—many of whom are hoping for the drama of an unexpected capsizing.
CONTACTS:
Oxford University, Information Office
Wellington Sq.
Oxford, OX1 2JD United Kingdom
44-18-6527-0000; fax: 44-18-6527-0708
www.ox.ac.uk
SOURCES:
DictDays-1988, p. 14