event/holliday
New Year’s Bells (online)
Normally lots of people in Japan go to shrines and temples on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. But this year due to the COVID-19, most shrines and temples will be closed at night. Some temples have decided to broadcast the New Year’s bells online so that we can all watch it live via Facebook, YouTube, etc.
幸先詣 – Saisaki Mōde
Japanese people usually visit a Shintō shrine or a temple at the beginning of the year. That is called Hatsumōde. However, this year in order to avoid a large crowd due to the COVID-19, shrines are asking people to come out before the New Year as a good omen visit or Saisaki mōde.
Koi Nobori Sushi
Koi nobori sushi (鯉のぼり寿司) is the simple & fun way to Celebrate Children’s Day at home. Please click this link to see more about Children’s Day.
Happy Father’s Day
Father’s Day was started in the U.S., but in Japan we celebrate it as well on the same day (please click here for more details). In Japan we say “お父さん、ありがとう (thank you, Dad)”, “父の日ありがとう (thank you on Father’s Day)” or “いつもありがとう (thank you always)” instead of “Happy Father’s Day (父の日おめでとう)”. Additionally, in Japan we only celebrate our own fathers and only our own fathers. Wives normally don’t celebrate husbands on Father’s Day, siblings don’t celebrate their brothers who have a child, and friends don’t celebrate men who have a child.
父の日 – Father’s Day
Just like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day was started in the U.S. In 1910 Sonora Smart Dodd sent white roses to her father to thank him for raising her by himself. She strongly felt that fathers should be recognized as well as mothers. She asked her church to hold a celebration on her father’s birthday which was in June. This was the origin of Father’s Day. Just like Mother’s Day, this tradition reached Japan and we started celebrating Father’s Day, and just like Mother’s Day the symbol of Father’s Day in Japan is roses. However, I think we often give more manly gifts instead of flowers.
母の日 – Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day actually started in West Virginia. When the person named Ann Jarvis, who was a social activist during the American Civil War, passed away, her daughter donated 500 carnations to the church in West Virginia for the mother’s funeral attendees. This was the origin of Mother’s Day. This tradition reached Japan and we started celebrating Mother’s Day. Interestingly, in Japan we kept the ritual of sending carnations and almost always give carnations to our mothers instead of any other flowers, whereas in the U.S. roses are much more mainstream on Mother’s Day.
In the language of flowers white carnations mean “respect”, red ones mean “mother’s love” and pink ones mean “gratitude”. However, yellow ones mean “jealousy” and “disrespect”, so you may want to avoid yellow ones as a gift. lol
菱餅 – Hishi Mochi
For hina-matsuri we display beautiful dolls and offer food and drink. Normally the drink is shirozake or Japanese white wine, and the food is hishi mochi. Typical hishi mochi is a diamond shaped rice cake that consists of three colored layers; pink, white, and light green. There are several different stories behind of the reason why it’s three-colored and diamond-shaped, but it’s summarized that the shape and colors are for good luck.
豆まき – Bean Throwing
According to the lunisolar calendar, Setsubun for spring 2019 is on February 3rd.
People in ancient Japan believed that they got sick due to evil spirits when the seasons changed. Setsubun, which marks the transition between seasons, was a time when many fell ill. The bean-throwing ceremony, known as mamemaki, was first held at local shrines to ward off these evil spirits during Setsubun. Soon after, people started performing this ritual in their homes. During a mamemaki, an adult man (usually the father) dons a demon mask and runs through the house. Family members chase him, throwing soybeans and shouting, “Out with the demon and in with good fortune! (鬼は外、福は内)”.
昔々、季節の変わり目は邪気のせいで病気にかかるのだと思われていた。節分はちょうど季節の変わり目。病気になる人が多く、邪気をはらう行事として神社で豆まきが行われた。その後、豆まきは家庭でも行われるようになった。家庭での豆まきは普通父親などの大人の男性が鬼のお面をつけ、家の中を走り回る。家族は鬼に豆を投げながら「鬼は外、福は内」と叫ぶ。
Christmas Dinner
