For all of you girls out there, your special day is coming up soon on March 3. That’s right – Hina Matsuri!
Hina Matsuri is said to originally come from an old Chinese tradition of transferring your bad luck to a doll and floating the doll down the river. In Japan, the tradition eventually became the celebration for young girls that it is today. Families with young girls set out beautiful, expensive hina doll sets like the one in the picture, which represent the royal family. The girls get to eat special sweets and snacks and drink amazake, or “sweet sake”, which is made from rice malt instead of alcohol.
Even if you are not a little girl anymore, you can still enjoy this yearly event, which celebrates being a female. On March 2, Meiji Shrine will hold a festival for Hina Matsuri. If you check with shrines in your area, they might be holding some kind of activities as well!
