Nov. 23 is known as 勤労感謝の日 (kinrō kansha no hi, Labor Thanksgiving Day) in Japan, a day to pay respect to workers and each other. This day has also long been known for 新嘗祭 (niiname-sai), which celebrates the year’s harvest and offers newly reaped rice and crops to gods at the Imperial Palace and shrines across the country.
勤労感謝の日は労働に敬意を表し、お互いにねぎらいの言葉をかけ合う日です (Kinrō kansha no hi wa, rōdō ni keii o hyōshi, otagai ni negirai no kotoba o kakeau hi desu, Labor Thanksgiving Day is a day to show respect for labor and to exchange words of appreciation with one another).
The verb 労う (negirau, to show appreciation for) and its noun form 労い (negirai, appreciation) — both often written in hiragana: ねぎらう and ねぎらい — are keywords you’ll want to keep in mind on 勤労感謝の日.
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