Maekawa: April 2010

Blue

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Koinobori

It means "carp streamer," carp-shaped wind socks are traditionally flown to celebrate Tango no Sekku (端午の節句), an event which is now designated a National holiday; Children's Day. The wind socks are made by drawing carp patterns on paper, cloth or other nonwoven fabric. These carp sets are flown above the roofs of houses with sons, with the biggest (black) koinobori for the father, next biggest (red) for the eldest son, and ranging down to the smallest carp for the youngest son.

We went to the park to see the carp streamers much to the kids delight. The sky, so blue and bright made it the perfect day for showing off the carp streamers. The wind was in agreement too, blowing them beautifully away.

Since we were at the park, the kids enjoyed playing there too, climbing the rope and sliding down the tunnel...all in blue!

There is a famous short Koinobori Song often sung by kids and their families and it goes like this:

Japanese:
屋根より高い鯉幟
大きな真鯉はお父さん
小さな緋鯉は子供たち
面白そうに泳いでる

Romaji:
Yane yori takai koi-nobori
Ōki na magoi wa o-tō-san
Chiisa na higoi wa kodomo-tachi
Omoshirosō ni oyoideru

Translation:
Higher than the roof-tops are the koinobori
The large Carp is the father
The smaller Carp are the children
They seem to be having fun swimming.
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Happy mommy moments!

Addiction (photo hunt)

Saturday, April 24, 2010

(Totoro rice ensemble)

Call it addiction if you may, it's actually a must for me as a mommy, when my little girl started school, making Obentou is the first thing I do when I wake up. As expected I got hooked learning new characters to make so that the food will be interesting enough for my daughter.

(Hello kitty obentou)
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Since only my older daughter is going to school, the little girl at home get her share as well, she enjoys the characters too!

For:

Red (First entry for Mommy Moments)

Friday, April 23, 2010

You've probably learned from other moms about Hinamatsuri (雛祭り)or Girl's day. 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).

Hinamatsuri used to be an occasion when little Japanese girls had their own parties. It was customary up to the prewar years for them to invite their friends to a party at which they partook of the sweets and food offered to the dolls. Sometimes they cook and prepar the food and cakes to be offered to the dolls.

They drank Shirozake, a sweet mild rice wine too. 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.

Nowadays though, the sweets could be like this we gave the girls, strawberry cake! Hajimemashite, meet our girls Sarina (3 years, 8 months) and Ayana (2 years 5 months).

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 us parents, our joy and pride in them, and our desire to please them...

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Happy Mommy Moments!

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