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The 3rd of March - (by the Solar Calendar) is called "Hina-no-Sekku","Hina-Matsuri" (Doll's Festival) or "Momo-no-Sekku" (Peach blossom's Festival) which used to be one of the important seasonal events of ancient China and has now developed into a function symbolic of Japanese arts and customs and has been in existence in Japan since the Edo Period (17 - 19 centuries). Momo-no-Sekku used to be held on the 3rd of March according to the Lunar Calendar, though today it is actually not until early April that the peach blossoms begin to bloom, and that is how the name of this festival came about. On this day families with young daughters celebrate this event at home to ensure their daughter's future happiness. That is, they decorate hina-Ningyo (special, beautiful dolls which are replicas of an ancient emperor and empress and their subordinates). The dolls are not the everyday dolls usually played with but are ceremonial dolls, a heritage of the household, handed down, many of them, from generation to generation. They are displayed for a few days in the best room of the house at this festival time, after which they are carefully boxed and put away until the next year. Parents who are able to do so buy new sets of dolls for a girl baby born since the preceding festival, and relatives and friends make gifts of dolls. Peach blossoms, symbolizing a happy marriage, are indispensable decorations of this festival day. The blossoms signify the feminine traits - of gentility, composure and tranquility. A set of Hina-dolls usually consists of at least 15 dolls, all in the ancient costumes. The display also includes miniature household articles which often are exquisite artistic productions. The dolls most highly valued are the Dairi-sama, which represent the Emperor and Empress in resplendent court costumes of silk. They are attended by their two ministers, three kanjo (court ladies), and five court musicians. All are displayed on a tier of steps, usually five, from 3 to 6 ft. long and covered with bright red cloth. This stand is specially set up in the home only on this day. The Imperial couple occupy the top step, the Emperor at the left of the Empress. Court ladies and banquet trays and dishes occupy the second tier; the other dolls are arranged on the lower tiers. In the old days, on March 3 by the Lunar Calendar, all the people, men, women and children, made crude dolls of paper, and in making them they transferred their ill fortunes or sickness to the dolls. Gathering the dolls, they went together to a nearby brook or river, and cast them, bearing all their evils, into the water. It was thus an occasion for a family outing, just when the pleasant spring season started. Also the date which this festival is held marks the onset of spring. Hina-matsuri used to be one of the very few occasions when little Japanese girls had their own parties. It was customary up to the prewar years for them to invite their small friends to these parties at which they partook of the sweets and food offered to the dolls. Sometimes they cooked and prepared the food and cakes to be offered to the dolls. They drank Shirozake, a sweet mild rice wine, on the occasion. The main offerings are small cakes - hishi mochi (diamond-shaped rice cakes) fruit-shaped candy, tiny white and red dainties of osekihan (glutinous rice boiled with red beans) and colored wheat gluten. The colorful air of both the dolls and the young girls add to the gaiety of this festival. Old country families still treasure their family hina-matsuri dolls and doll furniture which are preserved for centuries. Brides used to take their own dolls to their new homes. Many interpretations are given about the festival. Families observe it to encourage filial piety, ancestor worship, loyalty, but above all is the love of children by Japanese parents, their joy and pride in them, and their desire to please them, and this love often impels poor parents to sell some of their belongings to buy dolls and decorations for the festival.

Masa outstation ke Japan, sempat juga melawat host family junior kat Fukushima city. Lama betul tak jumpa Satou-san and family. Nampak uzur sedikit satou otousan. Satou okaasan pula sihat. Masih aktif lagi.

Kebetulan sempat datang menziarah, Satou okaasan ambil kesempatan serahkan patung hina "hand-made" yang dihasilkan sendiri. Tapi yang simple aje la. Terkejut juga sebab susah-susah aje dia buat semua ni.

Asalnya bila balik Malaysia terus nak tangkap gambar Erina dengan hasil kerja Satou okaasan ni, tapi baru sekarang ni berkesempatan:)


Satou otousan & okaasan

Semalam (18/08/2007) gi Tokyo DisneySea dengan kawan masa Fukushima Uni dulu (Niina & Sukiyama kun) dan K. Nora, sempai yang shucchou gak kat nihon tapi kompeni lain.

**For details, sila lawat http://ryuhana.blogspot.com

Last weekend ke Ginza.
Untuk cerita lanjutnye sila lawat http://ryuhana.blogspot.com

Eh lupa lak nak inform, mama Erina kena outstation ke Japan dari 31jul-15sept. Uwaaaaaaaa...

Hari terakhir di Sarawak, melawat Sarawak Cultural Village.

Hari kedua baru la jalan-jalan. Kami sewa sebiji Citra, kawan Ujen punya. Cukup la untuk naik 2 family. Family kami pulak naik dengan Jem n family. Memula kami pegi Serikin dulu sebab serikin jauh dari Kuching. Lebih kurang sejam lebih skit. Dah dekat sempadan Indonesia. Keadaannye macam Bukit Kayu Hitam atau Padang Besar atau Rantau Panjang jugak la.
Cuaca panas jugak la, mungkin sebab dah dekat ngan Kalimantan.

Lepas ronda serikin, kami ke Pasar Satok pulak. Pasar Satok ada hari Sabtu dan Ahad. Satok sebenarnye nama tempat. Besar jugak pasar ni. Dari buah-buahan, barang-barang basah, souvenir Sarawak termasuk t-shirt, kain pua, beg mengkuang etc. Papa cari jugak ulat yang kadang tu ada orang Sarawak makan, sib baik tak jumpa. Kalau jumpa pun, tak lalu mama nak tengok papa makan.

Balik semula ke hotel, cuci diri, rehat rehat kejap pastu kami anak beranak kuwar jalan2 lagi. Jalan2 kat kedai2 souvenir sepanjang panjang waterfront tu. Menarik jugak souvenir kat situ.

Malam pulak, kami ke rumah mak sedara husband Ujen. Makan mee sarawak pulak. Mee sarawak ni kuahnya macam laksa penang. Laksa pulak makcik tu buat dari bihun. Tapi paling tak lupa, sambal udang kering dia la. Perghh...rasanye aku makan 2 pinggan gak la...

On the way balik hotel, kami singgah lagi makan mee kolok pulak kat Kubah Ria. Dah pukul 11 lebih malam pun singgah jugak le sebab keesokan arinye dah nak balik. Mee kolok salunye waktu malam jerk. Mee macam maggi mee je, tapi kuah sup tu yang buat jadi sedap tu. Nyum nyum nyum...

Last month kami bertiga gi Kuching, Sarawak. Sebenarnye dengan 2 family lagi. Gi reramai best jugak. Ada pulak lagi satu family, kawan kitorang jugak duk Kuching. So memang dia je la yang bawak jalan.
Kami beli tiket masa tu bulan januari kot. Air Asia kan salu buat free seating. Masa tu la kami book tiket. Tapi waktu balik, Ujen n family tak dapat balik sekali sebab dah takde tiket. So dia kena ambik flight malam skit dari kitorang.
First day sampai memang tak jalan memana except Indian street, kedai kek lapis ngan waterfront. Ada jugak singgah kedai souvenir sepanjang sungai tu.
Malam baru jumpa jem n family. Kitorang dinner kat ngan hotel jerk.
Pastu first time minum teh c. Teh ni ada 3 layer. Bawah sekali gula melaka (kadang gula tu perasa pandan), susu dan lepas tu baru air teh. Sebelum minum kena la kacau dulu, baru bercampur gula, susu dan air. So jadi la teh susu sebenarnye.

Hebat...kecik2 lagi dah karaoke. Ni la first time mama ngan papa gi karaoke sejak kawen dan bawak erina sekali. Erina memang suka nyanyi. Dalam kete pun dia suka follow orang nyanyi. Tapi dalam bahasa dia la..Hehehehe

Selain dari karaoke, Erina dah ikut papa ngan mama tengok wayang. Movie yang erina dah tengok:
+ Harry Potter And the Order of the Phoenix
+ Transformer

Dalam cinema, Erina tak nangis pun. Dia pun sibuk makan popcorn atau french fries yang dia panggil "kokot" (read: biskut).


Good girl, Erina!