Happy New Year !

January 1, 2006

I went to a Shinto shrine, which is in my city, with my family by car. It's not so far from my house but we were in a hurry because we had to greet some guests today.
There were many people there. I guess there are more people than last year. The reason there are so many people there is good weather.

By the way, many Japanese people visit a Shito shrine during the first 3 days of January in order to wish for their health and happiness. It's called hatsumode, the first visit to a shrine.

Then I came home and greeted my younger brother's family as our first guest. We had a lot of delicious foods at home - such as osechi-ryori. Of course, we had alcohol so much. :-p

Osechi-ryori are Japanese traditional dishes which are had during the first three days of January. Most of them are prepared on New Year's Eve and cooked in order to be preserved for at least three days. So women don't have to cook during all that time. The dishes have several auspicious meanings. For example, kazunoko, herring roe, represents the prosperity of our posterity.

Have a nice New Year to everyone !