My Japanese New Years

Happy 2013! 

New Year's is a holiday that I've always looked forward to every year for a few reasons. One is because Japanese children receive money from relatives on new years. (YESSS!) The other is that we get to eat traditional Japanese food! Even though the cash receiving tradition ended a few years ago when my parents told me I've become an adult (Dang), they still spare me to let me join the food festivity ;)) Instead of money my parents gave us a big rice container and a huge bag of Nishiki rice. Thanks Mom & Dad!  

Japanese people eat specific foods around New Year's time. It goes like this:

All the food have meanings to them in relation to the New Year, but I don't know all of them... haha.

New Year's Eve night: We eat soba.
I know the soba eating in hopes for a long life.

New Year's Morning (Happy New Year's!): Mochi

The meal that takes several days to prepare for is the main meal: Osechi (Oh'-se'-chi) Mom & Dad worked hard for about three days to make everything. So it can be understood that this is the meal that I look forward to the most! 

The bottom right salmon is wrapped with konbu.

Yorokobu means to rejoice.

So... Yorokonbu... as my mom said haha!

Mom also explained that the Yellow & White are celebratory colors for New Year's.

So for a lot of the foods I don't exactly know the meaning, but I know that they're all to celebrate New Year's! Next year I'll help you make the food Mom & Dad. :)

So New Year's Day was great on my side. How about yours? What did you do? :)

Masumi