Last Sunday, I celebrated Japanese Girls’ Day with my daughter, Louisa Mei. Since she is one quarter Japanese, we have honored this holiday all her life. We display the Japanese emperor and empress dolls that her great-grandmother in Japan sent her when she was born, and host a tea party.
This year, in a break from tradition, we did not invite Louisa’s friends. Instead, we invited a few neighborhood women and their young daughters. What a joy to have preschool and kindergarten girls in the house again! (Though having teenagers is terrific, too.)
It seems like just yesterday, my husband and I were the family with young children on the block. Now I am the not-so-young lady bringing out the china and crystal and lace to host tea parties!
In Japan, Girls’ Day is a day to pray for the happiness and healthy growth of your daughters. Following that theme, we served caterpillar cookies, and Louisa Mei folded origami butterflies for each of the young guests to take home.
Plank Road Stories 