Naturally, I am aware that it's almost March already, but it took me some time to recover from this years New Year's. It's usually a time I look forward to, to wind down, but unfortunately, this year began with bad news over bad news, stressing me out constantly. It didn't help that I was already stressed from getting my driver's license in December (which you can read about in my previous blogpost).
To give you a quick rundown on what exactly happened, since you might have likely not heard the news if you live outside the country, it was one horrible event on top of the other. On the first of January, Japan's Ishikawa prefecture was hit with a very heavy earthquake which we were able to feel up to Aomori. We were visiting extended family for the very first time since I married into my partners family and it was already pretty nerve-wrecking for me personally. While we sat down around the coffee table, the earth started rumbling and it was unsually long. We are all used to everyday earthquakes, but this one felt different. It was almost like we were on sea, on a ship, that was swinging from left to right during high tide. Even afterwards, whenever I'd talk to other people who had felt some of the impact of that earthquake, everyone agreed that the way the earth was shaking felt differently than usual.
From that point on, it wouldn't stop quaking for days on end. Many buildings were destroyed and landslides caused houses that originally were strong enough to withstand the earthquake itself, to slide down hills and get destroyed that way. Rescue teams couldn't reach the most affected areas due to landslides destroying the streets and pathways. And then there were areas that didn't even get media coverage, people seeking shelter in school buildings and using school gym supplies to write SOS on the schools baseball fields so they'd get noticed. I can't image what they must've gone through and since I can't turn of my empathy and are not very good at filtering what does and doesn't affect me directly, I felt devastated with every new update that came from the region. It doesn't help that at my in-laws home, the television usually runs non-stop.
On the evening of the second of January, I was talking to my mother on the phone while letting the news channel just run in the background. My partner was on his phone, his mother doing the same and my father-in-law was preparing dinner in the kitchen while I was reporting to my mother about the earthquake. Suddenly, my mother would change the conversation to asking if Tokyo was in the affected areas, since she didn't really know where Ishikawa was located. Just as I told her no, the news channel suddenly changed program to a camera on Haneda airport in Tokyo, showing something burning. "Urgent news: Something is burning on the tracks of Haneda airport. I repeat, something is burning. We don't know exactly what the cause of the fire is yet, but something is burning on the tracks of Haneda airport" the newscaster repeatedly said. My mother-in-law and partner got worked up, asking what was going on, and I also couldn't concentrate on talking to my mother anymore. As time went on, we found out that a passenger plane had hit a smaller plane while landing - which is something that might have made news in your country as well, since Japan Airlines crew and passengers managed to all escape to safety which still feels like somewhat of a miracle. The very first blob of fire that was shown on TV however wasn't so lucky, it was the smaller plane, out of the six people on that plane only one person survived, barely. Now they're charging the one survivor to take responsibility for the crash and lives lost which my husband and I agree is just 'so Japan'. The worst tragedy of all in my opinion was that this plane crash would have had never happened if it wasn't for the earthquake the day before. The smaller plane was supposed to bring supplies to Ishikawa, to the devastated area.
On the third of January, a huge building in a populated area on Kyûshû, south of Japan, burned down and we collectively just thought "What the hell is happening?"
I'm sorry for going into so much detail with this years New Year's, it wasn't how I planned to write this blogpost. However, I can't gloss over the fact that this really heavily influenced my creative process. This is why I haven't been posting. There were other, more personal factors that also played a role in my general stresslevel going absolutely overboard, but I'm going to keep those to myself. Let me now try to continue on a more positive note and give you guys an overall look on how New Year's is celebrated in Japan versus in Germany.
Overseas, the New Year is usually celebrated with a "big bang", in Germany often times including fireworks that are illegal regarding German standards but have been purchased by idiots in bordering countries such as Poland. These same idiots sometimes throw said fireworks from their balconies or out of driving cars, purposefully targeting people who just walk down the street. It is a spectacle, for sure, and when I was younger it was obviously a miraculous event. I vaguely remember the New Years from 1999 to 2000, as my mother allowed me to have a sip of champagne. I obviously didn't get it at the time, but nowadays I do feel honoured to have been able to be somewhat present for such an impactful New Year's Eve.
The older I got the less entertaining it got for me. I started hating it. The loud noises that felt like war had just begun, the fear of walking down the street, having to look out for black BMWs (it was usually black BMWs) that could potentially throw fireworks at me or my friends. The obligatory getting absolutely wasted and kissing someone on midnight. I obviously have some really wonderful and special memories connected to that, but overall, I wished it would stop. How dirty the streets looked on the day after, how frightened house pets would be due to the stress. Overall, a tradition I can live without.
A tradition that I do miss is the quiet time before the big bang, christmas and the (supposedly) silent days that sorround it. There is no such thing as christmas holidays in Japan, but New Year's is somewhat of a substitute. New Year's, called "お正月 Oshôgatsu" in Japanese, includes the last day of December as well as the first, second and third day of January. Supermarkets will usually be closed on the first, but yes, most convinience stores will be open.
Private businesses that aren't attached to huge chain stores, as well as other service industries like financial businesses or lawyers and whatnot will most likely stay closed until at least the third of January. It is customary to buy something called お節 Osechi in advance, which consists of three Bentôs filled with various traditional Japanese foods. This is so that the usual caretaker of the home (which as we all know is usually the woman/women of the household) can also take a breather and doesn't have to cook. In some households, the women prepare the Osechi themselves beforehand, but most people just order it.
Osechi aren't delivered day by day, so they normally don't include foods that go bad too soon. To be completely honest with you however, I've never had Osechi, so I don't really know how it looks like. My father-in-law doesn't seem to mind preparing food during New Year's, probably because it's the only time of the year where he really indulges in most of his favourite foods that are a little on the pricier side. I think, Osechi is not very variable, as far as I am aware it is a pretty set menu and I think my father-in-law doesn't want to eat that during New Year's.
On the day or evening of New Year's Eve, it's traditional to eat something called "年越しそば Toshikoshi Soba", translating to something along the lines of "Soba for moving into the New Year". Eating Soba on New Year's Eve is supposed to help you live a long and healthy life. Unfortunately, I'm sensitive to buckwheat, so I can't eat Soba, but my father-in-law is so kind to prepare Udon for me instead.
On New Year's Eve, you usually hang out in the privacy of your home, chilling with your family and watching TV or doing something else. We like to sit around together while everyone is kind of doing their own thing - my husband usually is glued to his phone, while my brother-in-law plays games on his gaming laptop and I play games on my Switch. My in-laws watch the Oshôgatsu-special on TV that is just as cringy as the one I remember from Germany. It's still somewhat enjoyable to watch, just because it's fun to hang out and chill with the family.
Before the clock strikes 12, I always force my partner to get up and dress up nice and cozy for the 20-30 min walk in the snow to the nearest Shinto Shrine. This year there was basically no snow, so we got there pretty early. It rained instead which was kind of a bummer. But usually, all the previous years, no matter how stormy the snow, we would always go at midnight, because I really need that. Having given up so many traditions from my home, not going to sleep before midnight on New Year's is the one thing I don't want to leave behind. It just doesn't feel like the beginning of a new year if I wasn't there to be awake for it. (If I ever have children, you are allowed to call me out on that one.)
Going to the shrine at midnight is called "初詣 Hatsumôde", the "first shrine visit of the year". The bigger, more famous shrines are widely known to be super crowded on New Year's Eve, but the shrine we go to is not a big one so there aren't as many people. At our shrine, there is usually a fire where people can burn their old Omamoris, protective spells that you can purchase at Shinto shrines. Apparently, you're supposed to buy new ones every year and burn the old ones during Hatsumôde to leave the past in the past. After the clock hits 12, people are allowed to go in, grouped into a few people at a time. You throw in your coins, bow and pray for a good new year. Afterwards, 100 Yen can buy you an "御神籤 Omikuji", a little slip of paper telling you your fortune for the coming year. Last year, my husband and I didn't really get good fortunes, but all the other years we've always been quite lucky. The fortune paper is even going into detail about different aspects of life, like love, money, health, and even things like if you've planned a move. To make the fortune come true, or ward of bad fortune, you tie it to a designated area. By the way, you can purchase these fortune slips all year round at basically any shrine, but it's customary to do on Hatsumôde.
The fire at the shrine at midnight.
The rest of our family has no interest in going to the shrine at midnight, so they rather like to get up early in the morning and do Hatsumôde then. It's basically separated into Night Owls and Early Birds - you don't have to do Hatsumôde at midnight, I just personally prefer it to waking up early in the morning.
On the first day of January in the morning it's customary to eat something called "お雑煮 Ozôni", although I'm not sure how customary this is all over the country. I can best describe Ozôni as a chicken soup with Japanese vegetables like Gobô, my most favourite root vegetable, and carrots, which I know is not neccessarily a Japanese vegetable in the sense of the word. There's also the fish cake many of you maybe know from Naruto added into this soup. You eat it with a side of pickled daikon and carrot as well as black beans. Everything is supposed to help you live a long life. I really like it because chicken soup has been a comfort food for me since I was a child. My mother used to make chicken soup whenever I was sick, whereas in Japan you usually eat rice porridge when you get sick. But eating Ozôni reminds me of the warmth of the chicken soup my mom used to make and that just makes me happy.
Ozôni
Now, I think apart from a few regional customs we did back in Germany, like eating Berliner (Pfannkuchen) on New Year's Eve in Berlin, New Year's Eve itself doesn't really differ from what's probably the norm in America and other westernized countries. I really prefer the Japanese way, it's quiet and calming, not as hectic and loud and tiring. For me, Oshôgatsu has become a way to fulfill my yearly need for the quietness of christmas that I grew up with - which I can live without, but it would be a lot harder to live without it if I didn't had a replacement for it. I also just prefer quietly gliding into the new year as it's arguably a better start into a new year with new ambitions. For all of you Supersetters reading this, I usually do my Half-Year-Reset during this time spend at home!
Since my best friend kind of forgets every year that Japan doesn't celebrate Lunar New Year, I thought I'd add this tidbit of information at the end here as well. Of course, no hate to her, love her to the moon and back, but I hope writing this down here finally hammers the point home for her, haha!
Apparently, Japan used to celebrate Lunar New Year just as most other Asian countries do, but stopped during the Meiji restoration in 1868. At that point in time, the political party holding power invented a plethora of new rules and implementations to bring Japan up to the standards of other countries. I think, the main point was so abolish the feudal systems that continued to fight against each other within the country and instead create a more unified Japan, also creating a national army alongside it. Some of the lesser known facts of this political revolution are the measures that were taken to enforce the new rules and new system, abolishing Lunar New Year tradition was one of them. There are possibly parts of Japan that still celebrate it, after a quick Google search I briefly saw that it might still be part of Okinawan culture, but if we're completely honest, Okinawa differs in a lot of ways from the mainland culture generally, so there's that.
That's it from me for today. Write to you again soon.
EFA
Comentarios