My First Japanese New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Celebration

In Japan, as far as I can tell, New Years is the biggest holiday. Almost everyone has off work for a few days, if not a week and most people return to their home town to spend time with their families. I am not really sure why there is such an emphasis on New Years other than the fact that it is a fresh start; furthermore, it does not seem to be linked to any religious tradition or belief. The following is my account of my New Year celebration:

New Year’s Eve was nothing special and I hung out at the house with Joel and Momo for the whole day. The night before there was a party and a couple of people spent the night. Both of her friends that spent the night did not end up going home until around three in the afternoon. So, I gather there is nothing special that happens in the morning. The festivities did not start until dinner time at which point I had my first bowl of toshikoshi soba (noodles and fish in a soup is the best way I can describe it) which is meant to bridge the gap between the old year and new and upcoming year. I also ate some sushi with the soba.

(Toshikoshi soba and sushi)

After dinner, the whole family went in to the family room and we hung out for a couple of hours. We watched the Red/White show on television and enjoyed each others company. For those of you who do not know, the Red/White show is a singing competition between the best female and male singers; the teams are divided by sex and the women represent the Red team. There is also a pink team which is comprised of three members – I’ll let you guess their sexuality. Anyway, after watching television, we headed to the temple which was close to Momo’s house.

(Mariko and Momo and in the background is the Red/White show. Of course, the White team won!)

Her grandma stopped by the house at about ten minutes till. In the background, I could hear the temple bell as it gave its first chime. We quickly headed to the temple and climbed the temple steps. Inside there were three rows of chairs and a few heaters. Our first order of business was to pray. With the prayer beads in hand I knelt down and placed my 15 yen into the slot, picked up a pinch of spices and threw them in to the pot, and said my prayer. After the prayer I had some special New Year’s alcohol which tasted like a sweet oatmeal soup. Not exactly sure what the point of the alcohol was but Momo said it was to keep us warm.

(The Temple entrance)

(The location where they serve the oatmeal alcohol)

(My New Year's Prayer - wonder what it was...)

(Still praying but from this angle you can see a bit more of the temple.)

After drinking the alcohol I headed outside with the others and filed into line. There was a line to strike the bell. From the little bit that I know, the bell is stricken 108 times which represents all the human desires. I believe it is a Buddhist belief but I am not sure. Anyway, I waited in line for about 30 minutes and eventually got to ring the bell. I was number 81. I climbed over the fence and it was back to Momo’s house to hang out. We stayed up until about three or so just chit chatting and hanging out. I guess a lot of younger people just hang out and drink, similar to what they do in the United States.

(Bell ring number 81 with monk in the background. You can see the people in the far background inching their way along the outside of the wooden fence.)

(The bell during the day time. There are a set of steps behind the left side wall which you walk up. Then, you walk around all four sides, climb over the wooden beam, ring the bell, climb back over the beam and then go back down the steps.)

On New Year’s Day I awoke to brunch which was served around 10:30 am – just keep that in mind when I describe some of the food I ate. We ended up eating a special meal for lunch which Momo’s mother and father made. First, a beautiful black tray which was beautifully decorated with food was placed in front of us. Next, her mom cooked some oysters which Hiroshima is famous for. I must admit, I do believe they were the most delicious oysters I have ever eaten in my entire life; they just melted in your mouth. The oysters were followed by homemade sushi which her mother prepared right in front of us. There were several different kinds of fish as well as some other delicacies. Shortly after Momo’s mother placed something in front of me, Momo grabbed her translator and I realized I was going to be eating something special. Before I ate it I was informed that I would be dining on sea urchin. Shortly before the sea urchin it was shark eggs. Like I said, I ate some interesting foods on this trip. Momo’s mother went and made some more oysters for us so I decided to try my hand at making sushi, not the roll but a different kind. I must say that although it looks easy, it is rather difficult to get the proper amount and form the rice in to the correct shape. You will be able to tell which sushi is mine in the picture.

(The serving tray with Hiroshima oysters right in the center.)

(Momo, her youngest sister Sare, and Mariko the middle sister)

(Sea urchin on the left and salmon on the right. The sea urchin was different and I would probably eat it again at some point.)

(Me making sushi)

(Guess which one is the American made one... yep, the one on the left as you look at the picture. I should have thrown another piece of fish on it to super size it!)

After lunch it was time for otoshiodama which is an envelope that is given on New Year’s Day to all the children. Often, grandparents give their grandchildren envelopes as well. I am sure you have already guessed what is inside the envelope – money. I do not know how much each child receives and I am sure it varies greatly between families, but it is usually the only gift given throughout the entire year. So, I am sure it is a hefty amount. Of course, Momo’s kindhearted parents had an envelope for both Joel and I. I was very grateful for the gift I received and let me tell you, it was a lot more than I expected from people I had just met three days earlier.

(New Year's envelope)

Shortly after we finished eating we packed into the car and headed for a shrine. We arrived at the location and Momo’s father dropped us off. We stepped in to line with hundreds of other Japanese people and slowly made our way up the hill, past the booths of food and good luck charms, up a couple of flights of steps, and finally found ourselves at the front of the shrine after 30 minutes or so. This time, I threw in 10 yen and while I was making my wish, a woman brushed a white good luck thingy (sorry, that is the best description I can come up with – see the picture) on my head while I prayed. After my short New Year’s prayer I went and got my fortune for the year. Momo ended up getting the best one possible, Joel the fourth best, and I was second to the bottom. That’s okay with me because I don’t need a lot of luck, just a little bit that isn’t bad and I should be okay. Anyway, after Momo translated my fortune, which said something along the lines of help other people and you will be happy as well as she will come, I tied it to a tree with hundreds of others. And that folks, was my first New Years in Japan.

(The line to the shrine. This is about 1/8th of the line as it stretched up to the shrine and also down a hill and around a corner down the sidewalk. On the left hand side you can see some of the booths. The two people in front of me are Momo's parents on the right side.)

(The good luck white thing which touched my head.)

(The tree which held the fortunes. Momo got the best fortune and was supposed to keep it but instead she tied it to the tree. At the time, she did not know she was supposed to keep it. Momo Momo Momo...)

On a side note, many of you know that I do not believe in the whole idea of New Year’s Resolutions. This year, although there are several aspects of my life which I want to improve, I have decided to adopt a slogan, a personal motto. The inspiration for the motto came from a friend who had too much to drink one night and then went to see his girlfriend. The girlfriend asked what he was doing with his life and he simply replied – “Whatever I would like.” This is now my slogan for 2008. There is a second part but it plays a minor role (number two – Stay Positive!) I am tired of denying myself pleasures or feeling bad for eating meat. I am tired of being so hard on myself for not going for a run or taking a nap. So, this year, I am going to do whatever I would like and not feel bad about. If I would like to have a smoke, I am going to smoke. If I would like to nap, I am going to. If I would like to eat meat, I am going to. I have a feeling that this is going to be the best or possibly worst year of my life and I am looking forward to living by the new motto.