Doll’s Festival～Hina-matsuri “Girls’ Day”~ on March 3rd
On March 3rd, people celebrate “Hina-matsuri” (/雛祭り,the “Dolls’ Festival”(Girls’ Day) in Japan. It is said this festival started during the Heian period (794-1192) as a kind of game among aristocrats, and was so prevalent even among commoners during the Edo Period (1602-1868). This festival is held in order to bless girls for longevity and hapiness.
A family that has a girl exhibit a special multi-laywer set of dolls called “Hina Ningyou”(/雛人形,the doll(s) for the Dolls’ Festival), which includes dolls of “Odairi-sama”(お内裏様, emperor and empress, sometimes the empress doll is called “Ohina-sama”(/お雛様)), “San-nin Kanjyo”(/三人官女, the three court ladies), “Go-nin Bayashi”(五人囃子, the five court musicians),and some furniture and stuff, though some families decorate only the two dolls of Odairi-sama. Some gorgeous set can cost hundreds of thousands yen, while some simple two- doll set can be available at some thousands yen.
In ancient times, the festival was called “Momo no Sekku”(/桃の節句, the season-related Festival of Peach), while a Boys’ Festival on May 5th was called “Tango no Sekku”(端午の節句,the season-related Festival of the beginning fifthday of the month). However, since The Boys’ Day was designated a public holiday as “Kodomo no Hi” (こどもの日, Children’s Day) in 1948, Momo no Sekku has been called “Hina-matsuri” or “Girls’ Day”.
Traditionally, on the Hina-matsuri day, a family that has a girl or a woman gets together at home and drinks Ama-zake(/甘酒, sweet wine made from rice and usually containing no alcohol so that young children can drink it ) and eats special sweets, such as Arare(/あられ, cubic rice crackers),Sakura-mochi(/桜餅, a traditional Japanese sweet of sweet pink rice cake and red bean paste covered with a leaf of cherry blossom), and others.
Nowadays, just after the whirlwind rush of commercial campaigns, department stores and confectionery companies start another rush of sales campaigns of “Hina-matsuri sweets” including western cakes specifically prepared for the Girls’ Day.
And sometimes at school, daycares, and kindergartens, parties are held , and mothers sometimes make special lunches for Hina-matsuri.
At my house, this year, my family celebrated the Girls’ Day decorating Odairi-sama dolls, drinking Ama-zake, and eating sweets like Arare, cakes, Sakura-mochi, and others. We enjoyed ourselves very much though my mother is the only one “girl” in ma family. 🙂
Some municipalities host supecial hinamatsui events, such as the one of 3000 dolls’ exhibition of Yashiro City in Kumamoto Pref. 
and “Youkai Hina-matsuri” (Monster Hina-matsuri) in Sakaiminato City in Tottori Pref. This city is the hometown of Shigeru Mizuki(/水木しげる), a famous cartoonist of popular monster manga , such as “Gegege no Kitaro”(/ゲゲゲの鬼太郎).
Therefore, at that festival, the dolls were all monsters of his works’ characters designed by him, which are all popular even among children. 
By the way, the next NHK’s morining drama which is going to start from this Mar.29th on is “Gegege no Nyoubou”(/ゲゲゲの女房, The Wife of Gegege) is based on the biography of the wife of Mizuki. http://www.nhk.or.jp/gegege/
Some communities, colleges, and other societies invite foreign students and visitors to their Girls’ Day-related events for cultural exchange. So, eventually, this festival may be celebrated internationally.
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