an Oriental Christmas

Japan is a country that lacks a Christian base and therefore Christmas is sort of something people do for fun, if they so choose. I would liken it to Valentine’s Day, an excuse to buy cheap chocolate for a boyfriend or girlfriend and to spend a bit of time with them. Quite a contrast from the traditional Canadian Christmas. In response to the lack of celebration (which was rather disheartening) I organized a Secret Santa with my exchange friends and on Christmas Day, each one of us went out for karaoke and dinner. Though it was not a normal Christmas, we managed to make the most of it and tuck away our feelings of discontent during the hours we spent belting Christmas carols at the top of our lungs.
If Japan doesn’t celebrate Christmas, then what do they celebrate? I would liken the size of their New Year’s celebrations to that of some older Christmas traditions. Traditional Japanese New Year lasts for days; days of prep leading up to, and many days of recovery afterwards (in a different sense than we’re accustomed to). New Year’s isn’t rowdy; there are no big parties. It’s a rather solemn affair steeped in very old traditions and very, very old styles of food. My first moments of the New Year were spent trekking up an ancient staircase embedded into a snow-capped hill to the local temple in order to pray and wash away the past year. While I walked with my host family, all was silent except for the solemn 108 tolls of the temple bells. In those moments, it felt as though I had stepped back in time.

At the shrine, I rang in my fortune (which was very good) and also received a paper fortune (also very good). If we are content with our fortunes, we tie them to a near the shrine, and tying them is supposed to make them come true. If we have bad fortune, we tie our fortune to a tree branch in hopes that it will not follow us. On top of all my supposed good fortune, we were also graced with a clear sky that night and as we made our way back home we could see hundreds of stars. It may not sound like much to you, but 95% of the time it is cloudy in my city and is often raining, or snowing, or both. The clear sky was an extremely good omen.

My counselor here in Japan the other day asked me if I missed my family, and no was my reply. I wished so greatly that I was able to explain to him that it was not because my family had done any ill, but because my host family had become my family. My two younger host sisters, 13 and 10, are like my real sisters. We dig at each other and pick on each other like real siblings would. They’re like the little sisters I always wanted when I was a kid but never had. My host parents are great, also, and have told me that they think of me as their daughter.