also: ねのび
day of the Rat
In the traditional Chinese zodiac calendar, the day of the Rat, especially the first such day in the New Year, was observed with customs like gathering herbs and pulling up young pines.
Long ago, on the day of the Rat, people would go out to the fields and hills to pick young greens.
collecting herbs and pulling up young pines on the day of the Rat
Abbreviation of 子の日の遊び, an archaic New Year custom. The activity itself is the focus, not the day.
See also: 子の日の遊び
pine shoot pulled out by the roots on the day of the Rat
Abbreviation of 子の日の松, an archaic term for the pine shoot used in the day-of-the-Rat custom.
See also: 子の日の松
The term 子の日 could also refer to the pastime of picking young greens and pulling up pines by the roots.
子の日 is also an old way of referring to the pine shoot itself that was pulled up by the roots.
Standard kanji spelling for this traditional term.
Alternate reading; less common than ねのひ.
From 子 (ne, 'Rat', the first sign of the Chinese zodiac) + の (no, possessive particle) + 日 (hi, 'day'), referring to the day of the Rat in the traditional calendar. The reading ねのび is a variant.