Silver Week (シルバーウィーク, Shirubā Wīku) is a new Japanese term applied to a string of consecutive holidays in September, occurring only in certain years.

In 2009, the term gained popularity,[1] referring to the unusual occurrence that year of a weekend followed by three Japanese public holidays in September.

It is unusual for September to get this extra holiday, so the presence of a "silver week" was not widely noted before 2009.

[5] Historians have identified Silver Week itself as a commercial invention of the 1950s film industry, keen to promote cinema attendance during the holiday by reference to the popularity of leisure pursuits during the better-established Golden Week,[5] yet another invention of the Japanese film industry.

[6] However, this older definition of Silver Week did not catch on nor did it make it to some dictionaries.