Hinamatsuri is a seasonal festival celebrated on March 3rd. It is a tradition to pray for the health and happiness of girls. It is also called ‘Momo no sekku’, which means Peach Festival.

Families display special dolls known as Hinamatsuri.

Households with girls display dolls in ancient court costumes on a step-like platform called a Hinadan. Hinamochi, Shirozake (rice wine) and peach flowers are also displayed.

At this time, Japanese eat various foods for good luck. Among them, Chirashi-zushi, Hina arare, and Mochi are popular.

Chirashi-zushi is a kind of sushi with many scattered toppings such as salmon roe and sashimi on vinegar rice (sushi rice). Hina-arare are bite-sized rice crackers that are colored pink, green, yellow, and white. These four colors represent the four seasons. Hina-mochi is a very beautiful three-layered rice cake. It is red, white, and green. Pink is for chasing evil spirits away, white is for purity and green is for health. It is also said that pink means peach, green means land and white means snow.

It is common to drink Shirozake (rice wine) together with the meal.Have a happy Hinamatsuri!