It's March 3rd, Hinamatsuri (the doll festival), or as I knew it growing up, Japanese Girls' Day. My parents still put up their Empress and Emperor dolls on the fireplace mantle every March, and when The Pumpkin turned one last October, I made a special request of them for her own pair of dolls. So the other day, we unpacked them, figured out where all the little costume parts went, and set them on their pedestals on the table in the foyer, where they will stay for the month.
My dad (who's white, btw) always used any excuse to give gifts to me and my mom when i was growing up, so even though Girls' Day is traditionally celebrated for only young girls in a family, Girls' Day in mine meant presents for my mom. Boys' Day (May 5) meant hanging up a carp kite in the backyard and, of course, presents for me and my dad. [He even gave us cards, at least, on St. Patrick's Day. And of course there was the time I was scarred for life when, on April Fool's Day, I opened a box with my mom's present in it—lingerie. Shudder.] And so, the other day, a box arrived with gifts for their daughter-in-law and granddaughter, continuing the tradition.
Me? I forgot to get my ladies' gifts. D'oh! So here, for everyone to see, is my gift to them—Happy Girls' Day to the most important girls, to the most important people in my life. And to all you lucky dads of daughters out there (and moms, and daughters themselves), Happy Girls' Day, too....
2 comments:
I love Girls day! When I was growing up my mom refused to get me a Hina doll. Yet they always flew those damn fish for my brother every freaking year on boys day!!! My husband gave my one and only Hina for Christmas our first year together. Although he is Haole and totally misunderstood the whole "Girls Day" thing (and he ordered it from the AAFES-BX catalog), I realy apreciated it, because he knew I really wanted one when I was a kid.
So aaaanyway, fast forward to my daughter. Grandma now buys her a wooden Kokeshi doll every year for Girls Day. In the past she was not that interested in them, short attention span. But now that she is older, she wants to play with them badly. I had to distract her with the bubble wrap so that I could put the doll up on a shelf.
Where's my doll damnit!!!!! I'm living 4000 miles away from my mom in the DC Metro area with the munchies for some hishi mochi.
I think that I am going to lay claim to my Obachan's emperor and empress dolls soon - after all, I am her namesake and so is the Munchkin (we all share the same Japanese middle name)! I own four kokeshi dolls, and my Obachan bought the Munchkin a kokeshi doll for her first birthday. I can't wait until the Munchkin is old enough for traditions like Girls' Day!
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