Writing - Girls' Day

 How many Japan’s annual festivals can you name? While Japanese people celebrate worldwide events such as Christmas and New Year’s just like other countries, they also have some unique national holidays that can be experienced only in Japan. Hinamatsuri is one of these festivities. Girl’s day is celebrated nationwide every year on March 3rd. If you live in Japan, or have traveled in Japan during the time of the festival before, it is probably not your first time hearing about the festival. 

It is also known as “Girl’s Day” or “Doll Festival” in English. The festival is held to pray for the healthy growth, prosperity and happiness of girls, especially those that are 10 or younger. 

Families with young girls will display a beautiful set of traditional Japanese dolls called hina-ningyo (hina dolls) at home. The hina dolls are believed to ward off evil and misery. These hina dolls are displayed with a prayer for good health and happy marriage for girls in the future, as they represent the Japanese imperial family’s wedding long ago. 

Like many other holidays, hinamatsuri is also a day when people enjoy special dishes. Chirashizushi is the most popular one, which can be translated as “scattered sushi” in English. It is a traditional Japanese dish consisting of vinegared rice with a variety of ingredients, including vegetables, thin egg omelets and seafood that are scattered on top! 

Hinamatsuri is a special day for Japanese families with little girls. If you don’t have children, however, you can still enjoy it in many different ways. Trying hinamatsuri dishes is enjoyable for everyone, which also allows you to experience traditional Japanese food culture. 

God Bless

Writing - Japanese Valentines

 In Japan, Valentine's is a celebration more fully celebrated to be inclusive for all people. To that end there are two days involved in the celebration.

February 14th 

Valentine's Day is more than just a celebration of romantic love; it's a chance to express appreciation and affection in various forms. The tradition of women giving chocolates to men, known as 'honmei choco' for loved ones and 'tomo choco' for friends, is a central aspect of this celebration. 

Men are usually expected to do very little on February 14th and it is the women who are expected to be the principal gift-giver. Not just to their partner, but also to men with who they share any kind of significant relationship.

Another big difference is the kind of gift given: while cards, flowers, jewelry or expensive dinners are all considered fair game for Valentine’s Day in many countries, there is only one acceptable option in Japan: lots and lots of chocolate.

However, just because men don’t have to spend money on Valentine’s Day doesn’t mean they get away with not reciprocating for the rest of the year. 

March 14th 

White Day was not actually established until the 1980s, when the Japanese National Confectionery Industry Association successfully campaigned to implement a ‘reply day’ for men to reciprocate the presents they received from women on St. Valentine’s.

The day was so named because the color white is considered a symbol of purity and is closely associated with an innocent kind of teen love in Japanese culture.

On White Day, men are expected to present girls with gifts roughly two or three times the value of what they received a month earlier.

If the man does not return any gifts at all, it is considered a disdainful spurn, while simply giving the equivalent amount of chocolate they received is perceived as a sign that they wish to cut the relationship.

God Bless 

Writing - Eve of Spring

 The Japanese have a penchant for colourful celebration. They are artistic and quite gentle often accompanied with a plethora of gentle sounds. The weekend gone saw Setsubun. 

Setsubun falls on about the 3rd of February, the day before spring is considered to begin. On the evening of this day, people scatter soy beans both inside and outside their homes while yelling, “Out with the devil! In with happiness!”. To pray for good health for the year, there is also the custom of eating the same number of soy beans as one’s age. 

Mamemaki

On Setsubun, when evil spirits roam the streets and knock on your door, this is not a time to hand out Halloween candy. Fill a Japanese wooden cup called a masu with fortune beans (roasted soybeans). With the cup in your strong arm, bend your knees into a ready position. Ask the bravest family member to open the door on your count.  1, 2, 3, go!

The moment that door rushes open, pushed by the force of a winter gale, with an evil spirit riding on that invisible wave, that’s when you give it a mouthful of beans. Toss that cup of roasted soybeans out through the door while screaming, “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi” (“Demons Out! Good Fortunes In! 鬼は外! 福は内!). As you lunge forward into that demon-tainted wind, the beans clearing your path to safety, catch the side of the door and slam it shut! Fall to the floor, with your back securing the door, and whisper under an exhausted and exhilarated breath, “Oni wa soto.  Fuku wa uchi.”

God Bless