Japanese festivals are designed to express pride and patriotism. The New Year festival requires much preparation. Houses are cleansed of evil influences and the kami-dana is provided with new tablets, flowers, and other items. Special foods are prepared, and houses are decorated with flowers, straw, paper, pine branches, and bamboo sticks.

A Girl's Festival is held each March 3; it is intended to honor family and national life. The Boy's Festival is held each May 5 and is meant for families to announce to the community their good fortune in having male children.

A festival of the dead called Bon is held in the middle of the year in which souls of dead relatives return home to be fed by their families. At the conclusion of the feast, farewell fires light the way for the relatives on their journey home. As the majority of Japanese are both Shinto and Buddhist, they have their funerals in the Buddhist manner. Only those who adhere exclusively to Shinto will follow the Shinto ceremony and services.

The most famous Japanese festival is the ancient Cherry Blossom Festival, held in early spring. Obviously, it is the celebration of the cherry blossom trees, which can frequently be seen on the grounds of shrines or on holy mountains. This festival is another example of the Shinto reverence for nature.

New Year's Day is the largest festival. It draws millions to shrines all over the country. There will be much praying and asking for blessings of the kami, and the celebration will mark the beginning of an auspicious new year.