Happy Girls’ Day!
Today in Japan, young girls and their families celebrate this holiday by displaying five or seven tiers of hina dolls and musical instruments spread out over a red carpet, as shown in this photo. Each tier of dolls has a special meaning.
Families take time to wish their daughters a life of happiness and good health. They (the adults) drink sake and eat chirashi zushi (a bed of rice covered with sashimi–one of my favorite Japanese dishes). It’s not a federal holiday, so people still go to work and school on Girls’ Day.
I’ve heard of this holiday ever since I was a young girl. I must have been quite young when my mom told my brother and me that people in Japan celebrate a Girls’ Day and a Boys’ Day (held in May).
Recently I found a slide my mom took of her friend Setsuko’s hina dolls back in 1965. The quality of the slide was too poor to post, though.
I’ll always remember Girls’ Day because it’s also the birthday of my only daughter.
Leave a Reply