Asia Talk: Winter Break

Greetings once again from Tokyo. ItŐs finally winter over here. Up to about mid-december we were having nice Fall weather. Now at night, it's getting down to about the freezing point. From what I've heard, Brookfield is in the midst of another tough winter. Drink an extra glass of hot cider for me too. Can't seem to find that over here. But what I have found is one heck of a New Year's party.

New Year's in Japan is a big deal, a very big deal. It is by far the biggest holiday period of the year. Except for a few stores and transportation services, the entire country basically shuts down for the week surronding New Year's day. This year, with New YearŐs mid-week, there were the most days off from work in recent memory. Nine days off for many Japanese! Walking around Tokyo was a surreal experience. Streets which are always incredibly busy and full of action were empty of people. Other places which are usually quiet, such as temples and shrines, were suddenly swamped with people. People selling and buying food and trinkets, people praying, women in their finest kimonos, teenagers in jeans, the very old, the very young, all ringing in the new year, Japanese style. For many, the traditional visit to the temple begins at 12:01 am, January 1. New Year's is the only day of the year when all trains run 24 hours. Great for the public, but tough on the railroad workers.

New Year's is also a time for seeing relatives. Families get together and join in eating traditional New Year's food. It's a set of Japanese delights, many of which are only eaten during this holiday. As with our Thanksgiving feast, so much food is prepared that everyone eats leftovers for many days! This year I had the great fortune to spend "Oshougatsu" (New Year's in Japanese) with a friend and her family in Yokohama. What a fun time!

All this talk about New YearŐs is probably making you wonder about Christmas in Japan. Well, since less than 1% of the country is Christian, Christmas isn't officially a holiday. Although you wouldn't guess that from seeing how the commercialism has penetrated the society. This is one import from the U.S. that has definitely made it in Japan. Big time! Huge displays of Christmas lights can be found all over the city. Every department store seems to be competing to have the gaudiest Christmas display. (Sound familiar?) One of my favorites (or least favorite, I'm not sure) was a store window with poor Santa, still with his long white beard, but stripped out of his red suit and attired in a bathing suit, lying in a hammock on a tropical beach, sipping a soft drink, gesturing for the passing shoppers to stop and spend some yen.

By the way, for those of you who may be wondering, I did find a church nearby (only 1 hour away. In Tokyo that is nearby) and we had a very nice Christmas service. All the best for 1997! I look forward to continued communication from all my email penpals! Please drop me a note. "danielh@grad.e.u-tokyo.ac.jp" or write c/o P.O. Box 367 Brookfield. Until next time, peace. Dan Heller.