In March, there is an essential event for Japanese girls called Hinamatsuri. It takes place on March 3rd, with traditions to pray for the health and happiness of girls. Households with girls display dolls in ancient court costumes on a red steplike platform called a hinadan. On that day, they eat various foods for good luck, such as chirashi-sushi, clam soup, and three-tiered diamond shaped mochi. Aside from food, they drink sweet rice wine, called shirozake.
The dolls represent the wedding ceremony of an emperor and empress and they play an important role of this festival. Hinamatsuri is said to have originated in the Heian period (794-1185) when girls often played with dolls. At that time, there was a custom to flow paper dolls into the river, wishing drive evil away along with the dolls. In the Edo period (1603-1867), with the development of craftsmanship, various types of dolls began to be made. Hina dolls gradually became more gorgeous as the time goes by, and instead of being thrown into the river, they were enshrined as a good luck charm. Eventually, the dolls became more and more meaningful as a substitute for a girl's lifetime of misfortune.
Like many other holidays, hinamatsuri is also a day when people enjoy special dishes. Chirashizushi is the most popular one, which can be translated as “scattered sushi” in English. It is a traditional Japanese dish consisting of vinegared rice with a variety of ingredients, including vegetables, thin omelets cut into strips, and seafood are neatly covered. And traditional clam clear soup is often served with it.
The first hinamatsuri for girls is especially important to celebrate. Usually 0-1 year old girls dress in beautiful kimonos and celebrate with their new or handed-down hina dolls from their mothers. Girls are blessed by their parents and often grandparents too, to wish their growth, health, and happiness to come in the future.
The festival is held not only in households with girls, also there are many public places where we can enjoy it with impressive displays of the hina dolls. One of the famous places for hina doll exhibition is City of Katsuura in Chiba. Here they hold the Katsuura Big Hinamatsuri Festival, and the entire town is immersed in a convivial mood. The main location is at Tomisaki Shrine, where about 1,800 dolls are displayed at the stairs of the shrine. In total over 30,000 hina dolls are on display from late February to early March.