Japanese New Year

Just for you dad...

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had fun New Years Celebrations.

My view of Japanese New Years celebrations is that they are very similar to Christmas in Australia. Yes i know its a completely different religion here but the way they are celebrated is very much the same.

On the 31st december (at about 11pm) i went with my host parents and sister to a shrine. (to thanks the gods for the start of a new year i guess) first we went to Ishikiri shrine, one suburb east of where i live. Ishikiri shrine is very well known around the Kansai area (around Osaka) and so there we alot of people, so many that it may have been up to an hour before we got up to where the people pray. Instead of waiting we said goodbye to my host sister, who was on her way to a countdown, and made our way to Hiraoka shrine - one suburb west of where i live to welcome the New Year.

The next day i got dressed up in my sisters beautiful kimono for brunch with my host dad's mother who lives ext door. After that i got changed and my host sister dressed in a different kimono that her grandmother had given her and we went to Kyoto for an evening meal with my host mother's family. On the second day of New Years my host dad's family came to our house for lunch.

The food was good, the company was great and it felt just like Christmas time does. In Japan Christmas time is spent with friends or boyfriends and New Years with the family.

Another great thing about Japanese New Years is the shopping sales they have after the celebration is over.