梅雨

お変わりなくお過ごしでしょうか？
　沖縄は梅雨明けということですね。
　梅雨のイメージは、ジメジメとかカビとかネガティブになりがちです。
　でも梅雨の季節を待っている草木もいます🎶
　自然の中に触れたりしますと聞こえてくる気がいたします♡
　気温が気象が不安定ですので御自愛くださいませ。

Hello there. Okinawa has officially declared an end of the rainy season. We tend to associate rainy seasons with words like, "humid" "mold" "mildew"....doesn't sound too fun.
As for plants, they are feeling the total opposite way! They are screaming and shouting with happiness.

軽井沢と東京

皆さま、お変わりなくお過ごしでいらっしゃいますか？
甲田順子から写真が届きました。
４月に入っても道の脇には雪が残っている軽井沢ですが、今年は雪が降りました。
友人とのランチ写真の窓の外に雪が☃
Hello everyone! Hope all is well. I just received some photos from Junko.
Here are some photos of her and her friends having lunch.
Did you notice the snow outside the window? It's already April and there's this much snow!
Karuizawa can get very chilly.

私は陽気に誘われて、お散歩に出かけてまいりました。　　
皆さまのお住まいの所では、どのような春の足音を感じらていらっしゃいますか？　
However there are days when it's nice and sunny out. The beautiful weather summoned me to go on a short walk around the pond.

If you haven't yet, the next time you go for a walk take the time to look around and you may notice the signs of Spring.


Akiko

お雛祭り

雛祭り

3月3日は「上巳」「桃の節句」などと言われ、厄を人形に移して祓った「流し雛」の風習がありました。それらが発展し、雛人形を飾り女の子の健やかな成長と幸せを願う現在の「雛祭り」となりました。

※日本文化いろは事典の解説

Hina Festival 

Celebrated on March 3rd as Girl's Day or Doll's Day. Origin dates back to the Heian period. During the Heian period, straw hina dolls were placed in a boat  and was drifted down the river. This act represented getting rid of misfortunes and bad spirits. Today, to have full set of "hinadan," which is a 7 step display consisting of many different dolls, can be very expensive. 

For more information: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinamatsuri 

節分

節分

「節分」は「せち分かれ」とも言い、本来季節の変わり目、すなわち立春・立夏・立秋・立冬の前日を指す言葉です。特に現在は立春の前日(2月3日)を「節分」と言い、豆をまいて悪疫退散や招福の行事が行われます。

※日本文化いろは事典の解説より

Setsubun

Setsubun, literally means seasonal division. Back then it represented the day before the start of a new season. Now it is only celebrated on February 3rd, the day before the beginning of Spring. On this day, adults wear the Oni mask and the kids would throw beans at them as they yell, "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" (Demons out, Luck in!) The Oni represents bad fortune and Fuku represents good fortune. They do this annually to bring in good luck. 

For more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setsubun