In Japan, Christmas is completely commercial. There is no religious message attached to it. NYE is religious. People go home to their families if they can, and everyone dresses up in their best traditional Japanese clothing (if they don’t have kimonos, they dress in Western business attire), and visit a shrine to beg the gods for a healthy, happy, and most importantly, prosperous new year.
For many years, I would host a NYE party in my tiny little rabbit hutch apartment for my students, colleagues, and friends who, for whatever reason, couldn’t spend it with their family. One year, I fit nearly 30 people into that tiny space! Vodka shots make a great lubricant!
I’d start planning the menu around the beginning of December. All appetizer type foods that didn’t require forks, spoons, or knives. We always had a boatload of Waribash , disposable chopsticks on hand, though. Prep started on the 28th, and I usually had 5 to 10 students participating. It was a party in itself! And when the main event was over, those who chose to stay until morning would bundle up and make the trek to Kyoto to small temple devoted to performers and patrons of the arts to offer our own prayers for the new year.
I really miss those days. This year, it’s just Mark and me, and our puppies. I’ll make a pot of Hoppin’ John, something with cheese to snack on, and some Jell-O shots. Maybe some oven-fried chicken and stir fried ramen noodles. We may or may not take the short drive to a vantage point where we can view the fireworks on the Strip.
And that’s about it.
) so, nothing special planned for dinner..
