From thigh-revealing outfits to colourful pinafores, there was a lot of humour and sex appeal on display this Maid’s Day.

Besides the national holidays and commemorative occasions marked on the annual calendar, Japan has a huge number of other special days throughout the year which are cleverly designed to honour more everyday facets of society and culture.

These “days” exist because of the interesting pronunciations that come about when certain month-and-day combinations sound similar to well-known products, events or activities. There’s Honey Day, or Hachimitsu Day, on August 3 (8=hachi 3=mitsu); Gomi Zero Day on May 30 (No Garbage Day [5=go 3=mi 0=zero]); and on May 10, we have Maid’s Day, due to the fact that the alternate reading for 10, “do”, works to create the word “May-do” which sounds just like the word “Maid“.

Cosplayers, artists and even anime characters all came out to honour the day by posting pictures to social media with the hashtag #メイドの日, “Maid no Hi” or “Maid Day”, so we’re joining in the celebrations with a look at some of the funny, cute and alluring pictures that appeared online.

Kicking us off is the awesome swordfighting maid, who loves to combine traditional samurai-style moves with the elegance of a maid’s uniform.

While plenty of living, breathing examples of maids appeared online, surprisingly, there were a lot of inanimate creatures getting in on the act too, like wide-eyed dolls…

Well-known characters, like cats who live in bananas from the anime series Bananya

And Kirimi-chan, Sanrio’s salmon-head character, also dressed up in a maid’s uniform.

Talented artists also celebrated by sharing some of their gorgeous designs.

Fans of Japanese music group Band-Maid couldn’t help using the occasion to post photos of their favourite band.

https://twitter.com/ERNIEBALL_JAPAN/status/862112396273262592

And of course, cosplayers were keen to don their cute uniforms, with the most popular look of the day going to pink-haired Ram and blue-haired Rem, the twin maids from anime series Re: Zero cosplay.

https://twitter.com/CHARiS_333/status/862075820185079808

▼ Ram and Rem inspired both cosplayers and artists on the day.

Other cosplayers decided to walk a more traditional route with their outfits, with long uniforms…

▼ Short-skirted outfits…

▼ And raunchy maid lingerie.

▼ There were also maids exposing thighs in over-the-knee socks

And others who chose something different to the traditional black-and-white look, opting to stand out in more colourful fashion choices.

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#メイドの日

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モデル:藤谷愛佳さん 衣装:カーディナルメイド服(ピンクギンガム) #メイドの日 #5月10日はメイドの日 #メイド服 #キャンフル #キャンディフルーツ #キャンディフルーツフォトクラブ #キャンフルフォトクラブ #ポートレート #ポトレ #ファインダー越しの私の世界 #写真好きな人と繋がりたい #写真撮ってる人と繋がりたい #カメラ好きな人と繋がりたい #カメラやってる人と繋がりたい #コスプレイヤーさんと繋がりたい #東京カメラ部 #eoskissx4 #フォローご自由に #フォローお気軽に #写真好き #キヤノン #美女 #ピンク #ピンク好きな人と繋がりたい

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▼ For those working at Japanese maid cafes, every day is Maid’s Day!

Whether you prefer to cosplay alone or in the company of a friend, Maid’s Day is a great excuse to get dressed up for a special occasion.

If you missed out on Maid’s Day this year, there’s no need to worry – the special day is celebrated annually so you’ve got plenty of time to pick out an outfit in preparation for next year’s festivities!

Featured image: Twitter/@usa_miharu