Respect for the Aged Day Coloring Pages

A Day to Thank Your Grandma and Grandpa

Respect for the Aged Day is a day to say "Thank you for everything!" to your grandma and grandpa. It is a official national holiday set by the country. The law says its meaning is "to respect and love elderly people who have helped society for many years, and to celebrate their long life." It means it is a day to care for people who have worked hard for a long time and to celebrate that they are healthy and living long!

The 3rd Monday of September. In 2026, It Is September 21

Respect for the Aged Day is on the 3rd Monday of September. So the date changes every year. In 2026, it is September 21. It used to be fixed on September 15 in the past, but it changed to Monday in 2003. When Monday becomes a day off, you get three days off in a row. That makes it easier to go visit your grandma and grandpa who live far away!

It Started as a Small Village Gathering

Respect for the Aged Day started in 1947 with a gathering in a small village called Nomadani Village in Hyogo Prefecture. It started from the idea that "Let's treat older people well, use their wisdom, and make our village better!" Back then, it was called "Old Folks' Day." After that, it was called "Aged People's Day," and then in 1966, it became a national holiday with today's name, "Respect for the Aged Day."

There Are 3 Types of This Coloring Page

The 1st one is for kids. It shows a scene where children give a bouquet of flowers to grandma and grandpa in a Japanese-style room. It has fewer lines so you can color big spaces easily. The 2nd one is for adults. It is a fun picture to color with a porch and a Japanese garden. The 3rd one is a message card. The right side is open, so after you color it, you can write "Thank you as always" and give it right away as a present!

We Made It Thinking About Older People Coloring It Too

Respect for the Aged Day coloring pages are not just for kids to give as gifts. They are also used for grandmas and grandpas to enjoy coloring themselves! That is why, for this coloring page, each section is made a bit larger even in the 2nd one for adults. If it is too small, it can be hard to see or stay inside the lines. The patterns on the kimono are also made with big circles and flowers.

What Present Will Make Them Happy?

On Respect for the Aged Day, people often give flowers or sweets. But they say the things that make people happiest are handmade gifts and letters! Even if it is not perfect, a picture you colored yourself or a short note written in your own words has special feelings that bought things do not have. Try coloring this coloring page, write your name on the back, and give it to them!

Hair is white. The secret is not to make it plain white

Grandpa and Grandma have gray hair, so leaving it white without coloring looks best! But if you do that, it blends into the white paper and disappears. Try gently adding a tiny bit of light gray or pale blue just to the edges. That makes the white hair pop right out!

For the face, add light pink cheeks

Color the whole face with a light skin tone first. Then, add little light pink circles on the cheeks to make them look nice and healthy! Leave the wrinkle lines uncolored. If you color over them, the face looks too dark. Leave the glasses lenses white without coloring, too. That makes them look like real glass!

Make the bouquet bright by using many different colors

Try coloring each flower a different color! Just using red, pink, yellow, and orange makes it look so bright and pretty. The big flower on the second page is a chrysanthemum. People often give this flower on Respect for the Aged Day. Real ones are usually white, yellow, or light purple. Leaves are green, but mixing dark green and light green makes them look real!

For Kimono, color the big patterns first

The kimono on the second page has big circles and flower patterns. Color the patterns first, then color the background so you do not go out of the lines! If you pick a background color lighter than the patterns, the patterns stand out nicely. Try blue or gray for Grandpa, and red or purple for Grandma. It gives the kimono a cozy, traditional look!

For message cards, only color the borders

On the third page card, leave the place for writing white. If you only color the flowers and ribbons around it, the white middle pops out! That makes your message super easy to read. For the frame decorations, repeating 2 or 3 colors makes it look neat and pretty!

Its Original Name Was "Toshiyori no Hi"

Respect for the Aged Day wasn't always called what it is today. When it started in a village in Hyogo Prefecture in 1947, its name was "Toshiyori no Hi" (Old Folks' Day). But some people thought "toshiyori" didn't sound very nice, so it changed to "Rojin no Hi" (Aged Persons' Day) in 1963. Then, when it became a national holiday in 1966, it got the name "Respect for the Aged Day". So you see, the name actually changed twice!

It Changed from September 15th to the 3rd Monday

Today, Respect for the Aged Day is on the 3rd Monday of September, but until 2002, it was always on September 15th. Starting in 2003, a new rule moved a few national holidays to Mondays to create three-day weekends, and Respect for the Aged Day became one of them. By the way, September 15th is still called "Rojin no Hi" today. It isn't a national holiday anymore, but the name stays on!

Japan Has Lots of People Over 100 Years Old

Every year around this time, the government announces how many people in Japan are 100 years old or older. That number grows every year. In the 2025 report, it was 99,763 people! That is almost 100,000! About 90% of them are women. When someone turns 100, they get a congratulatory letter from the Prime Minister and a silver cup on "Rojin no Hi" on September 15th. This special gift tradition has been going on since 1963!