How is Father's Day celebrated in the Asian world?
In Asia, Father's Day is one of the most celebrated family holidays in Spain and always comes with a good meal and a gift for our fathers, husbands, or grandfathers. But how is it celebrated in the rest of the world? Like all traditions, this date is very different depending on the country, ranging from the day to the customs of each place. Here we tell you a little about how Father's Day is celebrated in three of our favorite Asian countries: Japan, Thailand, and China.
Thailand
Thailand's celebration is perhaps the most different from everything we are used to. First, because Father's Day is on December 5th and corresponds to the birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned from 1946 to 2016. In this country, the king is considered the father of the nation and that's why this day is one of the most important in the whole nation and is considered a national holiday, like in Spain.
The celebrations are very curious. On the one hand, in Thailand, each day of the week is represented by a color, and since King Bhumibol Adulyadej was born on a Monday, the city dresses in his color, yellow. From home decorations to the clothes of everyone who goes out to celebrate on the street, everything is this color.
And how do they celebrate it? In this country, it's not so much about giving gifts to their parents, but rather they gather in the most important avenues or squares of each city and light candles to show their respect for the current king and wish him many more years of life. During the night, the sky of different cities is filled with fireworks. In addition, in the capital, Bangkok, the king gives a speech and thousands of people join to see it live.
Our recommended Thai dish: Phad Thai
China
In China, Father's Day is not as popular as in the countries we mentioned above, but there are still some stories related to this event. During World War II, August 8th was chosen to celebrate this day in honor of the soldiers who died during these years. Why this date? In China, August 8th can be shortened as bā bā, which sounds very similar to the affectionate way of referring to fathers, bàba.
But nowadays, this date is only kept in Taiwan. In recent years, the Chinese have gradually joined the trend of celebrating this day during the third Sunday of June.
Our recommended Chinese dish: Vegetable spring rolls with sweet and sour sauce
Japan
Like many other countries in the world, Father's Day is celebrated in Japan on the third Sunday of June and is known as Chichi no hi.
The Japanese are very particular about food, and on all special occasions, they take advantage of the opportunity to give the best foods as gifts. Although different types of gifts, such as clothing or cigarettes (curious, isn't it?), are given on Japanese Father's Day, one of the most successful presents is gourmet products such as sake, waygu beef, quality sweets, or the famous unagi (eel).
Our recommended Japanese dish: Sushi Juni platter
And in Spain, how are you going to celebrate? We're sure that we'll do what we love the most as Spaniards: eat until we can't anymore. So you can treat yourself to a good meal with the most delicious Asian dishes, we offer you a special discount for Father's Day. Give your father a gastronomic trip with an Asian flavor at Pure Cuisine. We'll be waiting for you!
