Every March 3rd, Japanese people celebrate Hinamatsuri, also called Girls' Day or Doll Festival, and wish happiness and good health for girls.

The most iconic of Hinamatsuri traditions, these dolls may seem familiar to you as they are displayed annually in homes and various public places to mark the arrival of Girls' Day.  Girls' Day dolls, hina-ningyō, are created in the images of members of the traditional Heian court including the emperor, empress, musicians and various court attendants.  The origin of this tradition is said to lie in the ancient practice of nagashi-bina in which people would attach their bad luck to dolls and send them floating down a river.  Although at one point this tradition was practiced across Japan, it's now exclusively practiced in two cities in Tottori Prefecture.

No celebration is complete without food.  Hina-arare, colorful rice crackers as pictured above, are one of the most popular foods eaten during Hinamatsuri.  Others include diamond-shaped rice cakes called hishi mochi, flavored sushi rice known as chirashizushi and ushiojiru, a salt-based soup with clams.  Shirozake, fermented rice wine, is also often served.

Hinamatsuri displays are very colorful while they're up, but the dolls in particular are very swiftly removed at the conclusion of March 4th.  Superstition says that if they're displayed beyond that date, it will result in the daughter's late marriage.

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Written by Carly Susman (www.carly-rose.com)

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