I am a couple of days late posting about the Japanese Doll Festival, Hinamatsuri- which happens every year on March 3rd. It is also known as the Girls day festival as well. Ceremonial dolls are taken out, and displayed on steps covered in red cloth, and celebratory foods are also eaten, with lanterns hung as well. If go to Tik Tok or YouTube you can see some lovely videos of displays in Japan of these wonderous dolls that are sometimes antique or hundreds of years old, as they are not for play, but passed down in the family.
Here are some photos in the archives from my traditional doll Miss Happiness and Miss Flower from Rumor Goddens' two books- Miss Happiness and Miss Flower and Little Plum, the sequel which talks about the Japanese doll festival and the first talks about how to build a Japense doll house. These are two children's books that were written in the early 1960's and she wrote many books about dolls that if you can find them are timeless stories that capture the hearts of little girls and little boys too, as well as their imaginations.
