Girl's Day

~Yesterday (March 3rd) was the day of a Japanese festival known as Hina Matsuri, or Girls' Day. It's a celebration for girls to wish them health, longevity, and prosperity.

^During the festival, families with girls set up elaborate dolls, known as hina dolls, which wear traditional clothing. These are a few of the dolls set up at the civics center in Nagaoka. It was quite a collection.

Girls also dress up in their best kimono and go to parties where they drink amazake, a sweet, low-alcohol rice wine similar to saké. They also eat special sushi meals called chirashi-zushi.

There's an interesting superstition associated with the hina dolls: the day after March 3rd, the dolls must be carefully put away as quickly as possible. If this isn't done, the girls of the household will supposedly never be married! Horror of horrors! ~Oyasumi.