The Japanese Doll Festival or Girls Day (Hina Matsuri 雛祭り or Momo No Sekku もものせっく) is held on March third and is a celebrated to wish for growth and happiness for young girls. On this day families set up a display of dolls decorated with peach blossoms, rice cakes, and sweet white liquor called "sweet sake." According to Japanese legend, these dolls are believed to be guardian angels and must be put away the evening of March third or the family's daughter or daughters will not marry at the proper time.
Childrens Day or Boys Day (Kodomo No Hi こどもの日or Tango No Sekku たんごのせっく) is held on May fith and is celebrated to wish for growth of 
young boys and to rid oneself of bad luck. Althought this day is devoted to only boys, over time it has developed into a day celebrating children in general thus is also refered to as Children's Day. On this day a display of dolls is also set up but these dolls resemble warriors and heros. This display is decorated with rice dumplings and rice cakes. Also, outside a flag resembling Carp is flown. This flag is called Koi Nobori (こいのぼり). The Carp is a symbol of sucess in life because they have the strength to swim up waterfalls.The Comming Of Age Day (Seijin No Hi 成人の日) in Japan is
celebrated on the second Monday in January and is a day to celebrate all young people who turn twenty years old. In Japan, twenty is considered the beginning of young adulthood and is aslo the minimum legal age for drinking, voting, and smoking. On this day many Japanese males and females dress in traditional Japanese outfits and go to a Shrine to pray. This day is celebrated only once a year for the people who turned twenty since the previous year. Women wear a traditional Kimono on the Comming Of Age Day but it is also tradition to wear a white wrap on this day also.
とてもすばらし！
(I added Hypertext links but unfortunatly they are the same color as my normal text so in order to view them you need to move your cursor over the text.)
2 comments:
Another great post! I find that the traditions of the Japanese are intriguing and so much more "formal" than a lot of traditions we have here. The coming of age holiday reminds me of similar ones for young Latina women (quinceanera). Actually, it's kind of mixed with the Japanese one, although it seems more mature...
Great job Melissa!
I love the details you use to educate others in your blogs. The visual of the photos also help viewers understand the formalities and the rituals that these young people of Japan participate in.
Choice of words in descriptions create a very read-easy blog. Thank you for sharing. Keep up the great work.
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