Hinamatsuri- Japanese Doll Festival March 3rd

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. 

                                            

                                                        

                                                     

                                                       

                                                            

                                                             

  

Happy Hinamatsuri- The Girls' Day Festival

On the third day of the third month, in Japan, little girls celebrate the festival known as Hinamatsuri, or the Girls' day festival, also known as the Dolls' Festival. Steps are covered with red cloth, and very special ceremonial dolls are brought out of boxes, some of these dolls are handed down in families, generation after generation, to celebrate this special day. Boys have their own festival as well. 

Rumor Godden wrote two books on two little Japanese dolls- the first one was Miss Happiness  & Miss Flower. Below are my own 1:6 scale version of them, celebrating Hinamatsuri.

 

I hope you enjoyed the Hinamatsuri photos I have amassed over the years, I know I have enjoyed creating them. The books if you are interested, are by Rumor Godden and can be found on Amazon or ebay- Miss Happiness & Miss Flower and the sequel was Little Plum. 

Miss Happiness & Miss Flower tells how Nona, a lonely little girl befriends two Japanese dolls and there are even plans how to build a japanese dolls house and garden , and in the sequel, Little Plum, it explains about Hinamatsuri and how they recreate the Dolls' Festival in miniature.