Page:A handbook of modern Japan (IA handbookofmodern01clem).pdf/97

Rh The birthday of an individual, however, is not especially observed upon its recurring anniversary; for New Year's Day is a kind of national, or universal, birthday, from which age is reckoned. And this loss of an individual birthday is also made up to the boys and girls by the two special festivals, hereafter described, of Dolls and of Flags.

The wedding ceremony is quite simple but very formal. The principal feature thereof is the san-san-ku-do (three-three-nine-times); that is, both the bride and the bridegroom drink three times out of each of three cups of different sizes. This ceremony, however, does not affect at all the validity of the marriage; it is purely a social affair, of practically no more importance than the wedding reception in America or England. In Christian circles this convivial ceremony is omitted, and a rite performed by a Christian minister is substituted. As marriage is only a civil contract, its legality rests upon the official registration of the couple as husband and wife; and this formality is often neglected, so that divorce is easy and frequent. And as "matches" are generally made by parents, guardians, relatives, or friends, the mariage de convenance prevails in Japan. But the new Civil Code throws safeguards around the institution of wedlock; and the teachings of Christianity have already caused considerable improvement in the