Public Spark

Although I was born and raised in America, my parents have kept me in touch with my Japanese culture. One of the Japanese holidays we celebrate is Hinamatsuri (Girl’s day), also known as momo-no-sekku (festival of peach blossoms) on March 3rd. There are several components to this festival.

• Display

  Before March 3rd, we put out a display of dolls called the Hina Ningyo on red platforms, as pictured below. The two dolls on the top platforms are replicas of the ancient emperor and empress. On the lower platforms are the subordinates. There are many different kinds of displays and this is just one style. Legend has it that if it this display is not put away after March 3rd, the single daughter can never get married.



• Delicacies

  Peach blossoms, shiro-zake (white rice wine), and hishi-mochi (diamond shaped rice cakes) are placed on the stand with hina dolls. Hishi-mochi are colored in pink (implies peach flowers), white (implies snow), and green (implies new growth). My mom usually buys the sakura mochi (sweet rice cakes and Hina-arare colorful popped rice.

• Celebrating with friends

  Traditionally, girls invited their friends to a home party. This festival is now commonly celebrated as a school or community activity and many people prepare a special meal for girls on this day.

Resources:

• PingMag has an article called How to dress traditional Japanese dolls for girls’ day
• Kyoto National Museum has information about Japanese Hina Dolls

Hope you enjoyed a taste of the Japanese culture!