Happy New Year!

It is kind of strange celebrating New Year's Eve 16 hours ahead of my American friends. As I was waking up on January 2nd, my Facebook feed was covered in comments of people screaming: HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's very strange. Almost like celebrating the holiday twice.

In Japan, Christmas is kind of vague. They celebrate it, but not like we do in the US. The trash the next day was not overflowing with wrapping paper and boxes. On Christmas Day, people still went about their business. The large mall was open, school kids dressed in their uniforms hurried off to their classes, and it went by like any normal day.

New Years was a different story. Everything in Japan came to a screeching halt. Stores were closed and no one hurried to school. On New Year's Eve, people crowded into temples and shrines to get their New Year's blessings. The shrines ring their bells 108 times on the New Year to signify the 108 sins of Buddhism from which one should refrain. Some believe by hearing the bells, it absolves you of the sins of the previous year. Unfortunately, after the ringing of the bells everyone heads out to get drunk.

New Year's day also has special decorations called kadomatsu, which come in various forms (wreaths, arrangements, twigs) and are hung on or near a doorway for good fortune in the New Year. They sell kadmatsu on base, but I didn't know what it was, so I didn't buy any. Now that I know, I'll have to pick one up next year.

For more information on Japanese New Year, you can read it here.

Happy new Year everyone! I hope 2012 is amazing!