Fun Things to Do for the Doll Festival

Although this post is a little late, I thought I’d talk about a holiday that is not very well-known outside of Japan, but is still a very cute and interesting time of year. In Japanese, it’s called Hinamatsuri, or “Doll’s Festival,” and occurs every March 3rd.

It’s not a huge holiday; people don’t get the day off work or school, but most everyone here celebrates it by way of setting up decorations and eating certain foods. My kid’s preschool also has the kids act in a little play or performance every year specifically for Hinamatsuri in addition to some arts and crafts they do in honor of the holiday.

Although anyone can celebrate Hinamatsuri, it’s primarily considered a girl’s holiday – which is to say, a holiday dedicated specifically to young girls. (For those who are curious, the Japanese holiday aimed more at young boys is called Children’s Day and happens on May 5th.)

According to Live Japan, this holiday probably originated from the Chinese Shangsi Festival as a way to transfer evil and misfortune from one’s own body to a doll, which was then set to drift away on a river. Nowadays, though, the dolls are put up as decoration, and the festival as a whole is seen as more of a way to invite growth and happiness for young girls.

So, now that we’ve got some backstory, what are some fun ways to celebrate Hinamatsuri? Here are some tips based on my experience celebrating the Doll Festival with my kids.

1. Put up Some Decorations

The main decoration for the Doll Festival can be seen in the header for this post: a pair of traditional Japanese “hina” dolls in fancy kimonos, miniature paper lanterns, fake peach trees, and so on. The one in the picture is the most basic version with only the “bridal couple”; more elaborate sets have multiple steps (usually three or seven) and include court ladies, musicians, ministers, and so on.

Even the most basic set can be very expensive; I’ve seen them both online and in stores, and the cheapest I’ve ever seen was around $300 – and that’s only with one tier. I just checked it up on Amazon and a 7-tier set was over $1000. The only reason our family has one is because it was gifted to my sister-in-law (who, for the time being, has left it with her mother for safekeeping) by her grandmother (i.e., my daughter’s great-grandmother).

However, there are some more simplistic versions of the hina doll set that are much more reasonably priced – and frankly, I don’t know if you can get an authentic hina set outside of Japan, so really any fancied-up dolls in front of a paper screen will do. The important thing is to just have fun; you can try to follow the basic aesthetic to pay homage to the Hinamatsuri tradition, but it’s not like someone’s going to force themselves into your house and berate you for not sticking to the “rules” exactly.

2. Try Some Doll Festival Treats

The most popular snack for this day is probably the hina arare. Arare is a type of small, round Japanese snack made from rice and flavored with soy sauce. Hina arare is a little bit different in that it tends to be a little sweeter than most other varieties and it comes in three colors: pink, green, and white. These are the traditional colors of spring in Japan and are used a lot in different cakes and treats around this time of year.

It’s also pretty common to see cake shops come out with Hinamatsuri-themed cakes and pastries. Many times they’ll depict one or two hina dolls on top (either with an actual miniature doll or a sugar decoration), but some of these themed cakes simply have the same stylistic aesthetic as other Doll Festival decorations. In any case, it’s a nice way to celebrate the holiday, and I never say no to some cake.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of cake. Only arare.

3. Hinamatsuri Arts & Crafts

Finally (and this is a great one if you have kids), you can do an art project. Don’t have a hina doll decoration? Put one together with your kids! Some other great arts & crafts you can try are:

A hanging scroll showing the hina doll bridal couple
Homemade hanging decorations (basically just long red string/yarn strung with a variety of tiny plush trinkets – peaches, colorful balls, rabbits, mini dolls, birds, etc.)
Paper fan with a drawing of the hina dolls
Homemade paper lanterns that you can hang up
Make your own hina doll set with clay and cardboard

These are just a few simple ideas that you can use to jumpstart a fun-filled project with your kids. It’s one of the best aspects of Hinamatsuri in my opinion and a great way to welcome the coming spring.