Japanese Girls’ Day
We were very lucky to have one of our governors come in to talk to us about a special celebration in Japan.
Siobhan and her family were celebrating Japanese Girls Day or Hinamatsuri which is a celebrated on 3rd March each year in Japan, to wish for the health and happiness of young girls. On this day families display a set of ‘hina’ dolls in the house and is sometimes called the dolls festival.
Siobhan bought in some Hina dolls for the children to look at. They were very beautiful and delicate. In Japan they serve special food and wear celebratory, We had a look at some of these clothes as well… the children noticed that they looked very different to our clothes but were really pretty, with lots of special patterns. Siobhan also bought in some special Japanese shoes… they were very different to the shoes that women in this country wear and Sibhan said that they're very tricky to walk in!
During the session the children had some great discussions...when asked where they thought the clothes and dolls came from one of our boys decided he thought they were from the same place that Toyota cars come from…wow! What a fantastic link!
We used the internet to find that there is also a boys’ day in Japan that is celebrated on 5th May each year.
The visit from Siobhan was very important and it helps the children to explore, ask questions and gain an awareness of other cultures and beliefs and helps them to understand the similarities and differences between themselves and others and understand their place in the wider community.
When learning about other cultures and beliefs we are supporting the children to enjoy their right to find things out about the world and other people (UNCRC Article 13) and we are also able to reinforce about every child right to choose their own religion and belief (UNCRC Article 14)
Our learning was lots of fun and we extend many thanks to Siobhan for giving up her time, and sharing her special clothes, jewellery and dolls, to support our children’s learning.