Stephanie Mayeda, GVJCI Social Media & Community Outreach Intern
It's only one month away now! Kodomo No Hi, also known as Children's Day in English, is a Japanese celebration dedicated to kids, of course! Every year on the fifth day of the fifth month, Japanese families celebrate and give thanks for the health and happiness of all children with traditional foods and crafts. Specifically, koinobori (meaning "carp streamer") flags are often put on display. Traditionally, there is a black carp that represents the father, the red represents the mother, and the blue represents the child.
Every year, the GVJCI has its own Kodomo No Hi celebration where kids can take part in fun cultural activities. This year it will be on Saturday, May 6th, and we will be making mini paper koinobori in addition to having a song performance and mochi making! But for now, we're gonna give you a sneak peak on how to make some cute, little carps of your own!
But first . . .
Every year, the GVJCI has its own Kodomo No Hi celebration where kids can take part in fun cultural activities. This year it will be on Saturday, May 6th, and we will be making mini paper koinobori in addition to having a song performance and mochi making! But for now, we're gonna give you a sneak peak on how to make some cute, little carps of your own!
But first . . .
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STEP-BY-STEP:
STEP 1: Puncture a hole in the cup and place a wooden chopstick through it. Set aside.
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STEP 2: Cut three 2 by 3 inch pieces of paper for the carp and one 1 by 3 inch paper for the streamer.
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STEP 3: For the carp, fold the 2 by 3 in half and draw the eye and scale pattern (do for both sides). Next, color it and cut out a triangle shape at the end for its tail.
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STEP 4: Tape the long ends of the carp together and squeeze it gently to make it more three-dimensional.
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STEP 5: Cut thin strips for the handle and attach it to the koi's mouth. (Again, the traditional colors are black, red, and blue, but you can have fun with it and do whichever colors you want!)
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STEP 6: Color stripes on the 1 by 3 inch paper and cut along the stripes almost all the way to the end. Like the carp, squeeze it a bit to make a cylinder shape and tape a handle strip to its top.
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STEP 7: Tape the carps by their handles along the wooden chopstick and then tape the streamer to the very top. Done!
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NOTE: If tape doesn't help it stick to the chopstick, you can use some type of glue like rubber cement or hot glue to keep it in place!
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