Se un adolescente feliz

Where Do People Celebrate
Girls' Day and Boys' Day?

People in every country love their children. They celebrate them on
their birthdays or name days. In Japan, there are national festivals tocelebrate their children at the same time. These festivals are called Girls'
Day and Boys'Day.

Girls'Day is also called the Doll Festival. The Japanese celebrate it
on March 3 (the third day ofthe third month). On this day, a girl's
parents prepare a table in the best room in the house. They put a red
cloth on the table. Then they put steps on the table. They affange a set
of fifteenspecial dolls on the steps. Each doll has its place on the steps.
The dolls represent the royal family in ancient Japan-emperors,
empresses, ministers, and famous musicians. The emperor and empress
areon the top step.

These are not dolls for children to play with. They are expensive. An
inexpensive set of dolls can cost $200. The most popular sets cost about
$700. The prices can go up tothousands of dollars. Many grandparents
buy a set of dolls for their first granddaughter. When they have more
granddaughters, they buy other things to put with the table, such as small
pieces offurniture. Some families buy one or two pieces of furniture or
dolls each year to add to their collection.

In the festival, many girls wear the traditional kimono. They have
parties with their friendsand eat rice cakes and drink a special rice wine.
The wine has no alcohol in it, so children can drink it. After the party, the
family has a traditional dinner for the girls in the family.
s Twomonths after Girls'Day, on May 5, the Japanese celebrate Boys'
Day. Today they call it Children's Day. People fly banners on their houses.
The banners are made of paper or cloth, and they look likefish. When
the wind blows, the fish fill with air and seem to be swimming. Each
family puts up one fish for each boy. The fish of the oldest boy is the
largest, and it is on top. The youngest boy...