Tweet of the Week #79: Golden Week 2020 Downgraded to Gaman Week

In workaholic Japan, Golden Week is a highly anticipated string of holidays that everyone awaits with giddy excitement. Combined with the weekend, four simultaneous national holidays come together to make Japan’s busiest vacation season where we can all finally breathe and relax. Traffic jams, crowded airports, and endless lines for every tourist site are usually on the program.

From platinum week to… faded gold

In 2019, we got an upgraded platinum week with extra days off thanks to the abdication of Japan’s former emperor and subsequent start of a new era in the Japanese calendar—Reiwa. We already knew 2020’s Golden Week wouldn’t be as long as last year’s, but then COVID-19 came along and slapped us all down to… less than gold.

With the authorities calling for people to stay home to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, most folks sadly canceled their long-awaited vacay. Flight and train reservations nosedived and sightseeing spots and ryokans have been left deserted.

Since people are holding back instead of venturing out, Golden Week or GW, is now being referred to as Gaman Week.

https://twitter.com/penjiro1/status/1255656299150229505?s=20

おはようございます。良（よ）い天気（てんき）ですね。我慢（がまん）ウイークです。自宅（じたく）で過（す）ごしましょう。そんな体裁（ていさい）の良い事（こと）なんかしたくないね。でもしないとあぶないからね。賢（かしこ）くたち向（む）かって少（すこ）しでも自分（じぶん）に良い事しよ。今日（きょう）もがんばだ！ホイホイ！宜（よろ）しくなのだ！

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Good morning. The weather is nice today. It’s Gaman Week. Let’s spend time at home. You don’t really want to do such a thing, right? But if you don’t do it, it’s dangerous. Be wise and do something good for yourself. Good luck today! Shoo shoo! Thanks!

If you’re new to Japan, gaman is an essential life skill you should definitely master to blend into Japanese society. The term comes from Japanese Zen Buddhism and means “enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity.”

In other words, swallow the pill to protect the 和 (peace/harmony) with other folks. Your colleague chews on his pencil? Gaman. Nihongo jouzu-ed for the hundredth time? Ga-man.

Joking aside, the pandemic is showing us that we should all gaman for the greater good. Cultivate new skills (hello Kanji Cheat Sheet), binge Netflix or find ways to experience Japan from home.

GWを外出自粛の我慢ウイークと言うそうだけど、私達夫婦は人混み嫌いで毎年GWは家にいるので変わないんだな。
今年は毎日家でおいしいもの食べるぞ❤️❤️

— めんたい子 (@not_tarako_8823) April 27, 2020

GWを外出自粛（がいしゅつじしゅく）の我慢ウイークと言（い）うそうだけど、私達（わたしたち）夫婦（ふうふ）は人混（ひとご）み嫌（きら）いで毎年（まいとし）GWは家（いえ）にいるので変（か）わないんだな。

今年（ことし）は毎日（まいにち）家でおいしいもの食（た）べるぞ

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Golden Week is apparently called Gaman Week, but we as a couple, hate crowds and spend our GW at home every year, so it doesn’t change. This year too, we’ll eat delicious food at home.

Using と for conditionals in Japanese

One function of the particle と is to express the conditional for outcomes or consequences that are constant such as if you add one plus one, it’ll make two. This particular form of conditional is used to talk about natural phenomenons and usual or planned actions. You can easily translate it as “if/when/whenever… this happens.”

• Verb plain form + と
• Nouns, なadjectives だ+と

夜（よる）になると寒（さむ）くなる = It gets cold when night falls.

The negative form is also easy.

しないとあぶない = If you don’t do it, it’s dangerous.

How are you planning to enjoy your days off this year? We hope you aren’t considering working instead and enjoy the time at home!

Vocabulary

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