Today, Jamie's class was invited by one of her Japanese students' mothers to their house for the celebration of one of Japan's festivals, Hinamatsuri, or the Doll's Festival.
In short, Japanese families celebrate Hinamatsuri for their daughters good fortune and health. It has a long long history, but today is celebrated by individual families as well as a large celebration in many cities. Very interesting reads and I encourage you to take the time and educate yourself on a little history of this event.
Here are some links for you to read up on the celebration
Wikipedia Article - a nice overview
Another Site with some great pictures
About.com Article - another great overview
The picture above is one taken in the home of the students. Her mother explained the celebration and then explained to us what each of the 7 levels meant. I thank her for the photo she emailed to me since I didn't bring my camera. Actually me going was a last minute thing, but I'm very happy I was able to go. If you read the articles, especially the Wikipedia one, it will tell you what all of the dolls mean. Traditionally, the girl's mother's father buys the dolls for her on her 1st Hinamatsuri Day, which is traditionally the 3rd day of the 3rd month (March 3).
The boys then all played a Japanese card game (I don't remember the name) while the girls made origami cranes and roses. She had some sushi prepared and even pizza for backup. She then treated us to a Japanese tea ceremony which was very formal and very interesting.
All of this was in the span of about 1 hour. The kids really enjoyed it and we were all fortunate to take part in such authentic Japanese culture.
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