March 3rd marks the annual celebration of Hina-matsuri (Girl’s Day Festival) in Japan.
Hina Matsuri is the most beautiful and lovely festival in Japan. Because it is the festival for girls. Parents prepare the set of Hina dolls for this day which will bring happiness to their daughters and help them grow up beautiful as these dolls.
The dolls of the Hina Matsuri are not toys and children never play it. The festival has a long history and dolls describe the hierarchy of people in the Heian Period (794-1192) just as they did in the real Heian court, which starts from the Emperor and Empress. Dolls are dressed in the luxurious kimonos of gorgeous colors. Usually people set up 15 dolls on five to seven steps. You may also see doll sets in shops, markets, museums and shrines.
Traditionally the dolls are handed down from generation to generation; sometimes grandparents buy Hina doll sets for their families.
These dolls are expensive, but people pass it through generations. But recently traditions have changed and the dolls has been given to newborn girls as a gift.
Dolls should be taken down at the close or hidden after Hina-matsuri, because if the dolls are not removed in the end the day, a girl will have to wait for a long time before she marry.
This festival brings spring flowers. This means that spring has come and plum trees start blooming. The weather is getting warmer and people prepare for the cherry blossom – the most beautiful time of a year. Spring flowers represent youth and that’s the most suitable time for this festival.
Enjoy cherry blossom and spring in Japan.