YEAR 2008!!

New Year!!

I can’t say “Happy” this year, so “A New Year!!”
This is Japanese culture, but when one of your relative passed away, you don’t suppose to celebrate anything for one year.
So we can’t say “A Happy New Year”, we can’t wear Kimono, we can’t go to shrines or we can’t eat traditional Japanese New Year dishes.
My mom’s dad passed away last February, so we had to follow the culture.
We did not do say “Happy” or we did not wear Kimono, but we had to go to shrines for our company.
Going to shrines is our custom to wish a good luck for our company with my dad.
My mom stayed home at least this year, but I could not understand why it is bad to appreciate god and ask him a good luck again, so I went.


This is “Osechi”, Japanese traditional New Year dishes.
Well this is my mom’s handmade, so they are pretty arranged.
They are really delicious dishes which we only can eat on New Year’s day.
I was disappointed that I would not be able to eat this year, but my mom made a little bit.
It is such a hard work to prepare these dishes but I love this Japanese culture.
I am not good at cooking, but I want to learn how to prepare these dishes and want to pass this my family traditional recipes.
We had mom’s “Osechi” this morning with our maid, who is 95 years old.
She is still fine, but she is so skinny and looks like she just got a bone.
I felt pity for her that she lives by herself, but she kept saying that she is happy with that.
My dad and mom cried a lot this morning because of her.
They felt sorry for her and they thought they would not be able to spend new year’s day with her anymore.
I think they were just too sensitive.
After that, we went to a hospital where my grandma is to greet her.
And we left for Kyoto to visit my other grandma and ate mo grandma’s handmade Osechi, which is a little different from my mom’s.
We played cards afterwards, and I lost $20…
We are now staying at my grandma’s all together and will spend one night.