Hinamatsuri
Dolls festival, otherwise called Hinamatsuri (hina means doll , matsuri means festival), or girls day is celebrated in japan on 3rd March every year. This festival performs for young girls to wish growth and happiness, on this day, young girls place a set of ornamental dolls (Hina - Ningyo) on tired stands (steps) which are covered with red carpets. These tired stands are usually five or seven. The tradition of dolls displaying started during the Heian period (794 - 1185 ) in Kyoto.
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| source: Vikipedia |
Generally in mid February families get ready to display the Hina. The dolls should be put away immediately soon after the Hinamatsuri. The people believe that if they don't put away the hina-ningyo as soon as the festival ends, their daughters will get married late.
Prince (Obairi - sama) and Princess (Obina - sama) dolls are mainly used and they are displayed on the top tire. The princess wears a beautiful Heian court costume which is called "juuni-hitoe". Even today the royal families wear this costume on wedding ceremonies. Three court ladies are displayed on the next tier and the third tier has five musicians, two ministers and finally three servants. They display not only these dolls but also small pieces of furniture, small meal dishes and other things. All hina platforms are not decorated in this way however the tiers are filled with load of dolls.
This day some special dishes are prepared like Chirashi Sushi, Sakura- mochi, Hina-arare , Shirozake and Hishimochi (a diamond shaped rice cake). The Hishimochi are prepared in three colors, red or pink (chasing evil spirits away), white (purity) and green (health).
The people in various areas still follow the custom of floating paper dolls down the river late on the afternoon of the festival, which is called "hina-okuri" or "nagashi-bina".
The japanese celebrate not only girls festival but also a boys festival on May 5th, which is called "Kodomo no ho" (Children s day) which is a national holiday (but Hinamatsuri is not!)
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