The made-in-Japan celebration is picking up steam around abroad too.
Mainstream pundits will most likely tell you that the most significant day in Japan this month was May 1, when Japan’s new emperor Naruhito ascended to the throne and ushered in the Reiwa era. However, while a fresh monarch is definitely newsworthy, others might argue that the more important event came on May 10, when cosplayers celebrated Maid Day.
Much like with Nice Knee-High Socks Day, Maid Day is held on 5-10 because of a pun. First, you take the English name for the fifth month of the year, “May,” and then you tack on one of the Japanese words for the number 10, “do,” giving you “May-do,” which sounds just like meido, the Japanese pronunciation of the word “maid.”
Of course, the linguistic justification is really just an excuse to take a few moments to appreciate what’s been statistically shown to be one of Japan’s favorite outfits.
While having to cosplay within the creative confines of a single type of apparel might seem constricting, there’s actually quite a bit of possible differentiation. While some opted for an orthodox, demure look…
…other embraced the sexy maid aesthetic that’s led to things such as maid bikinis.
There were also maids ready to break out of the standard two-tone black-and-white color scheme…
…musical maids…
…and even a maid doing some actual cleaning.
Maid Day has grown to be a global event, with people outside Japan contributing as well.
As a matter of fact, you don’t even have to be human to take part, as Gunma Prefecture’s mascot horse Gunma-chan proves.
Of course, only time will tell whether May 1, 2019 or May 10, 2019 has the greater impact on Japan’s history. In the meantime, though, as long as no one jumps off a bridge and smashes their head to celebrate Maid Day, it’ll be the safer date.
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Follow Casey on Twitter, where looking at all these maids has him thinking he really should clean his apartment.