This is my first post of 2008. That is a big deal in Japan.
New Year’s Day is the most important holiday in Japan. It is a time for families. People return to their hometowns and eat special food and observe traditions that have been handed down for countless generations. For my American readers, if you can imagine combining Thanksgiving and Christmas, it is something like that. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are commercial holidays, more like Valentine’s Day. It is a romantic time for lovers. Most people work. But New Year’s is different. And for once, the frenetic pace of Tokyo slows, and the streets are just a little quieter than usual…
(more…)