Japanese New Year's

When a Japanese person wants to show part of their culture, they will not disappoint.  We sat around a table full of traditional New Year's food. Our plate contained a platter of sushi, which typically suffices as a meal, yet plates of food covered every inch of the table. It was incredible to see the effort and expense put into explaining the significance of New Year's Day.

While food is an important and overall tasty part of New Year's Day, many other traditions exist. The day is actually celebrated over three days (Jan 1 -3) and most corporations and small businesses are closed.  This closure is to allow people to visit family. In this way, New Year's is comparable to Christmas.

Another prominent tradition is praying at the shrines and temples. We saw cars lined for a mile in three different directions in order to visit one of the biggest shrines in the small town we lived in. The visitors will give some money (often a small amount), say their prayer to a statue, buy a fortune for good luck, and enjoy food from vendors who line the pathways.

Down the road from that shrine stands a church building. Inside that building, a group of people gathers to enjoy a traditional New Year's Day meal. They praise God, the One who transcends culture and luck and the One who revealed a plan from near the beginning of time to grant forgiveness and restore relationships. Anyone is welcome to attend the gathering, and occasionally a friend or visitor will stop in to take part. Our prayer is that one New Year's Day, the shrines will be closed because everyone is freely choosing to worship the living and true God, rather than a statue made of metal or stone.