昔の子供はのびのび育った

　私の家のすぐ近くの田んぼの様子です。昔は田植えのときや、稲刈りの時季に農家の子供は農作業を手伝うため、農繁休暇と言って小中学校が3日間ほど休みになりました。私の家は農家ではありませんが、子供心に嬉しかったです。

　一方、隣村の山名の八幡神社のお祭りでも、この日、倉賀野小学校は２時間で授業を打ち切り、子供たちは山名まで歩いて行ったものです。テレビのない時代で、今考えるとお祭りが本当に楽しかったのでしょう。

　ところで、ご覧の通り、稲はその重さで穂先が垂れるようになりました。これも稲の葉に太陽光が当たり、根から水分を吸収することで、光合成して「でんぷん」ができ、米となる自然の賜物です。

Dear my friend abroad

　This is the appearance of the rice field nearby. In the old days, during the rice planting and harvesting seasons, the children of farmers had to help the farm work, so elementary and junior high schools were closed for about three days, called farming holidays. My family is not a farmer, but I was happy as a child.

　On the other hand, even at the Hachiman-shrine festival in the neighboring village named Yamana, on this day, classes at Kuragano Elementary School ended after two hours, and the children would walk to Yamana. In those days, there wasn't a television set in every homes, so that festivals must have been really fun.

　"By the way, as you can see, the tips of the rice are drooping due to its weight". The leaves are exposed to sunlight, and the roots absorb water. Therefore the photosynthesis produces "starch" which becomes rice. This is also a gift from nature.

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