Thursday, January 05, 2006
Ichi-Fuji, Ni-Taka, San-Nasubi
Tradition starts to fade away when you grow up in a different country. But my mother drops them once in a while to remind me of my roots.
New Year's Day (January 1st) is the most important day of the year in Japanese culture. It is up the whazoo with traditions - they are connected to the ancient lifestyle, some are downright bizarre.
- At midnight on New Year's Eve, we eat toshi-koshi soba (barley noodles), because long noodles signify longevity
- It is said that you are lucky if you dream of these things on New Year's Eve:
1. Mt. Fuji (most lucky)
2. Hawk
3. Eggplant
People say, "Ichi-Fuji, Ni-Taka, San-Nasubi." I guess you've got it made for the year if you can dream of a hawk flying over Mt. Fuji with an eggplant in its talons.
- Up to 3 days before New Year's, women cook a variety of traditional dishes called Osechi. An abundance of food is made so that the women are relieved of cooking duty for the first few days of the year. The food needs little preparing, and they can all be eaten cold. Each Osechi dish has a meaning:
*Lotus roots - they have many holes, so you can look into the future
*Black beans (pronounced ma-me in Japanese) - ma-me means "dilligent," so parents urge children to eat these
*Da-te maki - Lord Da-te liked these sweet egg pancake rolls so much, so this dish became known as a sign of luxury
*Candied fish (tatsukuri) - These small, bony fish can be eaten whole. Tatsukuri means "making the field," wishing for a good farm year
*Fish roe (kazunoko) - Fish have many eggs, so this is a wish for fertility for couples and the continuation of the family line.
*Shrimp cooked in sake - Shrimps have crooked backs, so it is a wish that you get to live with your spouse until your old-age
Oh - and one other thing that Japanese people do at the end of the year is the biggest clean-up of their houses. They get rid of the old and clean their entire house so that the new year and the laughing god can come. (There is an old proverb "At the corner of laughter is a god of good fortune" Warau kado ni wa fuku no kami.)
Shinnen Akemashite Omedeto gozaimasu! ^_^ Happy New Year!
New Year's Day (January 1st) is the most important day of the year in Japanese culture. It is up the whazoo with traditions - they are connected to the ancient lifestyle, some are downright bizarre.
- At midnight on New Year's Eve, we eat toshi-koshi soba (barley noodles), because long noodles signify longevity
- It is said that you are lucky if you dream of these things on New Year's Eve:
1. Mt. Fuji (most lucky)
2. Hawk
3. Eggplant
People say, "Ichi-Fuji, Ni-Taka, San-Nasubi." I guess you've got it made for the year if you can dream of a hawk flying over Mt. Fuji with an eggplant in its talons.
- Up to 3 days before New Year's, women cook a variety of traditional dishes called Osechi. An abundance of food is made so that the women are relieved of cooking duty for the first few days of the year. The food needs little preparing, and they can all be eaten cold. Each Osechi dish has a meaning:
*Lotus roots - they have many holes, so you can look into the future
*Black beans (pronounced ma-me in Japanese) - ma-me means "dilligent," so parents urge children to eat these
*Da-te maki - Lord Da-te liked these sweet egg pancake rolls so much, so this dish became known as a sign of luxury
*Candied fish (tatsukuri) - These small, bony fish can be eaten whole. Tatsukuri means "making the field," wishing for a good farm year
*Fish roe (kazunoko) - Fish have many eggs, so this is a wish for fertility for couples and the continuation of the family line.
*Shrimp cooked in sake - Shrimps have crooked backs, so it is a wish that you get to live with your spouse until your old-age
Oh - and one other thing that Japanese people do at the end of the year is the biggest clean-up of their houses. They get rid of the old and clean their entire house so that the new year and the laughing god can come. (There is an old proverb "At the corner of laughter is a god of good fortune" Warau kado ni wa fuku no kami.)
Shinnen Akemashite Omedeto gozaimasu! ^_^ Happy New Year!
// posted by sakit @ 10:20 AM 
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is there anything to saying 'happy finishing the last month of the year' to everyone you meet for the first time since midnight on the 31st? It's like the first thing that is said between people.
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