Japanese Doll's Festival

The Doll’s Festival can be translated as Girls’ Day.

It is a traditional festival where prayers are said and wishes made for the good health and well-being of girls.

Families who have girls take out special dolls once a year for the occasion and make offerings of some traditional sweets, which are sold only during this season.

Hina dolls consist of two dolls and sometimes they are accompanied by other dolls that symbolise their servants and musicians.

The dolls represent a royal couple but many Japanese don't associate the dolls with a real Emperor and Empress.

The Japanese word given to describe the couple dolls and the words for Emperor and Empress are completely different.

The dolls seem so ancient and so far from our real life.

Boys are not too jealous because they have their festival on the May 5th.

But there IS a kind of unfairness.

Because May 5th has been a national holiday since 1948 but March 3rd never has been!

The reason is that May 5th has become known as Children's Day since 1948.

It is the day "to remind us of Children's Rights and to thank to our Mothers".

Some insisted that March 3rd should have been chosen as Children's Day but in northern regions, it is still too cold to play outside.

Are the boys happy about it ?

Not at all !

Now they don't have a day exclusively for them.

Why didn't they choose a day between March 3rd and May 5th!