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雪だるま – Snowman
A snowman is called a “yuki daruma” in Japanese. “Yuki” means snow, and “Daruma” is a lucky round doll with no legs. For more information, see my posting for Daruma.
Interestingly most Japanese yuki daruma is consist of two snow balls; head & body, whereas American snowman is consist of three balls; head, upper body & lower body.
だるま – Daruma
This round doll called “Daruma” is considered a good luck charm in Japan. Daruma was the name of a Buddhist priest who sat so long meditating that his legs disappeared, which is why these dolls have no legs. But many Japanese people today just think of the Daruma doll as a good luck charm without any religious meaning. Most Daruma are made of paper and wood. Usually they are sold with blank eyes. You paint one pupil in as you make a wish, and then you paint the other pupil in when your wish comes true.
年賀状 – New Year Card
Instead of Christmas cards, we Japanese people exchange New Year Cards, or nengajo. Unlike Christmas cards, these are postcards. You can mail one anytime between December 15th ~ 25th, and the post office will deliver it on New Year’s Day. A standard Nengajo from the post office includes a lottery entry. This lotto tradition started in 1949.
おせち料理 – Osechi
Osechi is a collection of traditional Japanese New Year foods. What goes in Osechi varies from household to household and from region to region. Most typical foods are shrimp, fish roe, beans, fish cakes, root veggies, etc. We finish preparing Osechi before the New Year, box them up, and offer them to Toshigami-sama.
門松 – Kadomatsu
Kadomatsu is a New Year decoration that made out of bamboo & pine. We place them at the main entrance of a house, a store, or a building in pairs (left-hand-side and right-hand-side). We believe that a pair of Kadomatsu will be marks to lead the way for Toshigami-sama to visit the house.
年神 – Toshigami
Toshigami (年神 or 歳神) is a Shinto God that Japanese people believe visits each household on New Year’s Day to bring blessings. We usually speak of “Toshigami-sama”, which is the honorific form of his name. Toshigami-sama is also called Toshitokujin, Tondosan, or Lucky Goddess.
Christmas Dinner
The modern Japanese tradition of eating fried chicken on Christmas Eve began (so the story goes) when a visiting American came to a KFC and said, “I couldn’t find a turkey here in Japan, so I am having chicken instead for Christmas.” A couple years later, in 1974, KFC launched an ad campaign promoting “KFC for Christmas.” It was a big hit, and to this day many Japanese still follow this tradition and eat chicken from KFC on Christmas Eve.
