Vernal Equinox Day is a national public holiday in Japan that occurs on the first day of Spring, which this year is March 20th. The public holiday is part of the Haru no Higan celebrations, in which people return to their hometowns to spend the day with their families and visit their family grave sites to sweep their gravestones and leave flowers as offerings. A popular traditional snack during this season is ohagi, sometimes also called botamochi, which are a traditional Japanese delicacy consisting of mochi rice cakes stuffed inside azuki red bean paste.