A Festival for Girls|日本女孩的专属女儿节

by Rebecca A. Fratzke

This Japanese holiday honors girls with a day of dolls, prayer, and dedication.

Japan has long been famous for holidays that are not really known in the Western world, with numerous ones observed each year. In February, special displays are set up in girls' homes in celebration of Hinamatsuri, more commonly known as the Doll Festival or Girls' Day. They are kept up until March 3, the official day of the Doll Festival, and no longer, as it is considered bad luck to do so.

The Doll Festival is held to honor girls and wish them good futures. Additionally, families pray for blessings of health and happiness for their girls. The Doll Festival takes place during the peach blossom season, and therefore, peach blossom branches are brought into the house and dedicated to the girls.

For a girl's first Doll Festival, the parents get her a special set of traditionally dressed dolls to put on display along with the peach blossoms. How elaborate the display is depends on what the parents can afford. The dolls are arranged on a stand with five to seven tiers covered with a red carpet. Each tier holds certain dolls and accessories. The top tier is for the emperor and empress dolls that sit in front of gold folding screens. The second tier holds three court ladies who serve sake, the third five musicians, and the fourth two ministers. Finally, on the fifth tier, three servants are included. The sixth and seventh tiers are for additional accessories, such as furniture, tea sets, and carriages. The celebration also includes drinking sake and eating colored crackers and diamond-shaped rice cakes. A holiday filled with dolls, snacks, and flowers seems to be the perfect way to celebrate the joy and beauty of girls.

1.  What is the main idea of the article?

(A) Holidays in Japan.

(B) What happens to girls when they reach puberty.

(C) An occasion to pay tribute to girls and wish them good futures.

(D) A ceremony held for girls turning 18 years old.

2. Which is NOT a name for the holiday described in the article?

(A) Double Third Day.

(B) Doll Festival.

(C) Girls' Day.

(D) Hinamatsuri.

3. Why are peach blossom branches part of the celebration?

(A) They smell wonderful, and perfume is commonly given.

(B) Their color perfectly matches the color of young girls' skin.

(C) When the final blossom on the branch opens, the holiday is over.

(D) It takes place during the time of year when peach trees bloom.

4.  On which tier of the doll stand would one find people playing musical instruments?

(A) The first.

(B) The third.

(C) The fifth.

(D) The seventh.

日本女孩的专属女儿节

这个日本节日以人偶、祈福和馈赠来赞颂女孩。

　　长久以来，日本很著名的一点是拥有西方世界不甚了解的节日，而每年人们庆祝许多这种节日。2月的时候，家中有女孩的人会陈列特别的摆设来庆祝『雏祭典』，其较通俗的名称为『人偶节』或『女儿节』。这些摆设会一直陈列到 3 月 3 日，也就是正式的人偶节当天才收起来，超过这天还继续摆放的话，人们认为会招来厄运。

　　举行人偶节是为了称颂女孩子，希望她们有美好的未来。此外，家人也会为她们祈求身体健康与快乐。人偶节举办的期间正值桃花盛开的季节，因此，人们会把桃花枝带回家里送给女孩。

　　女孩第 1次过人偶节的时候，父母会帮她准备 1 组身穿传统服饰的特殊人偶（编按：这种娃娃在日本称为『雏人形』），跟桃花一起陈列。摆设的精致程度则视父母的财力而定。这些人偶被摆在 5 到 7 阶不等、铺有红毯的架子上。每 1 阶都会放上特定的人偶和配件。第 1 阶放的是天皇和皇后的人偶，端坐在金色的折迭式屏风之前。第 2阶是 3 名奉上日本清酒的宫女、第 3 阶是 5 名乐师、第 4 阶是 2 名大臣。最后，第 5 阶放的是 3 名仆人。第 6 跟第 7 阶则摆放家具、茶具和马车等额外配件。庆祝活动也包括饮用清酒、食用彩色米果和菱形麻糬（编按：在日本称为『菱饼』）。充满人形娃娃、零食和花朵的节日，似乎是庆祝女孩喜悦和美丽的最佳方式。

答案：1. (C)2. (A)3. (D)4. (B)

由于人形娃娃可以代代相传，当嫁女儿的时候，娘家会把人形娃娃和新添购的家具作为嫁妆让女儿带走。女孩第 1 次过人偶节的时候，有时因为小朋友还小，所以不会买太昂贵的娃娃，之后再逐年添购补充。

有些名门世家的人形娃娃历代相传，累积到几十个甚至数百个，每年摆饰出来都相当壮观，有些甚至是从江户时代就传下来，有数百年历史，并且被列为国家指定的特别文物，其价值难以估计。（数据源：维基百科）