A day for the collection of words

Of the many anniversaries, commemorations and observances on May 1st, my personal favorite is probably Vocabulary Day 語彙の日 (Goi no Hi). The reason for the date of the anniversary is that 5/1 can be read as "go (5) i (1)" which means vocabulary.

Goi is translated as vocabulary, but specifically it means "the collection of words a person knows and can use". It comes from the fact that the second kanji 彙 means "a collection of many things", although originally it meant "hedgehog"! And the first kanji means "words."

"Vocabulary Day" was created by the organization that administers the Practical Japanese Vocabulary Test, to highlight the importance of vocabulary in everyday life. I think it's cute that they have a mascot "Goichan" that is a hedgehog, because in ancient times, "goi" would have meant hedgehog words!