How would it be another week in Japan without another holiday? "Hina Matsuri" is celebrated every year on March 3rd (but is not a national holiday). It's also known as "Girl's Day" or "Festival of Dolls". The origins of this holiday dates back over 1,000 years to 794 A.D.
On this day families pray for the happiness and prosperity of their daughters and to help ensure they grow up healthy and beautiful. Usually grandparents will buy their granddaughters a set of dolls on their first Hina Matsuri. Often times the dolls are displayed in a very specific elaborate 7-tier design as the picture below indicates. I have no idea where the Japanese find the space to put these displays in their tiny apartments!
These figurines are usually brought out around mid-February, and then are promptly put away after the celebration on March 3rd. I even got my own "doll" figurine from a lady at work (pictured below). She warned me that if I don't put it my doll away on March 3rd, the superstition is that I will have trouble getting married!! I've never had so many people concerned about my marital status before... It's kind of weird! (Just look at the doll that was picked out for me... I think it's supposed to be a bride & a groom!)
There is also a tradition that each household should leave a doll at a shrine or put it on a boat and have it float away to the sea on March 3rd. The thought is that bad fortune will be removed from the girl, transferred to the doll, and then abandoned.
Many of you may be wondering when is "Boy's Day"? In the past Boy's Day has been celebrated on May 5th, but in recent years it has been renamed to "Children's Day" to include both genders, and it is a national holiday.
Everyone please pray for me today, and I will be sure to put my doll figurine away before bedtime!!
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