I think you must know by now that I’m completely hooked. If I’m not blogging, chances are I’ve got about five posts running through my head, and I’m wondering when I’ll get a chance to write them down before I forget.

So, I was out grocery shopping — in the frozen food aisle picking out juice — and I thought, Today’s March 3rd! I’ve got to blog about Hina Matsuri! But then I thought, I’ve already blogged once today … people are going to KNOW I’m really obsessed if they check back and see something new.

Then I finally decided, I don’t care. I want to show everybody a picture of those dolls!

So here’s my news: today’s a really special holiday in Japan celebrating the JOY of having daughters! Now, I apologize to my Japanese readers who may have already read my blog today and think I’d forgetten. How many hours ahead are you? About 12? You must be asleep by now. (Gomen nasai — sorry!)

Anyway, when I lived in Japan, every family with a daughter had some sort of display set up for this happy celebration. People loved telling me about the dolls — each one has a very special meaning and place to be set up. Some of these elaborate displays are worth thousands of dollars and have been passed down from generation to generation.

Here’s a picture:

Here’s some information I’ve copied verbatim from this beautiful website:

“The Doll’s Festival, also known as the Peach Festival, Momo-no-Sekku, takes place on March 3. Hina matsuri (hina means dolls and matsuri means festival) is a time to pray for the well-being of young girls.

Most homes with young girls will set up a display of hina ningyo (hina dolls) like the one you see above. The dolls were originally handmade, but have since become mass produced. Around the display peach blossoms, rice cakes, special colored and diamond shaped rice cakes called hishimochi and white sake are placed as offerings. This festival has been celebrated in Japan since the Edo Period (1603-1867).

The main dolls used in the displays are Odairi-sama, a prince and Ohina-sama, a princess, who sit at the very top tier, surrounded by their courtiers.”

Please go visit here if you’re interested because she has tons of links and adorable craft ideas.

Here’s another site with gorgeous paintings of Japanese holidays from the book, Floating Lanterns and Golden Shrines. On May 5th, the boys will have their turn. This is called Kodomo no Hi, and families with sons will display samurai warriors and carp flags. I’ll have to remember to blog about that in May.

On a personal note, I recently discovered a miniature Hina matsuri orgiami craft that someone had given me years ago. It was packed away in a box with all sorts of treasures. In this display, a tiny little drawer opened, and inside was some colorful candy, which I’d never eaten. My kids found it and wanted to know if they could eat the candy!

I wonder what I can do today to celebrate having daughters. Maybe I can dig out one of my Japanese tea sets that’s been packed away, and we’ll have an apple juice tea party in honor of all the little girls in the world. (Now see, if I hadn’t blogged about it, I wouldn’t have thought of this.)

How about you? Do you have a daughter? Tell her you love her today!