Happy New Year!

Happy holidays to everyone! I hope you have a wonderful new year and that 2009 treats you well. 

I stayed in Japan for the holidays this year. It was very cool to see how Japan celebrates the New Year holiday. I visited some friends in Numazu on New Year's Eve. Just before midnight we went out and walked to a neighborhood in Numazu that had a Shinto shrine and a Buddhist temple across the street from each other. 

All the lanterns at the shrine were lit and there were lots of fires burning. (Which was nice, because it was getting a little cold!) At the temple, people were lining up to ring the temple bell. There were many families there. My friends and I loved watching the little kids ringing the temple bell. The bell is so big! The kids had to use both arms and swing the rope really hard. One little boy didn't hit it hard enough to make a noise. He was so sad! His mother gave him her turn, so he could try again. 

It was really interesting to go and see New Years celebrated in such a different way. Except for the bells ringing, it was so quiet! We knew it was midnight when the line at the shrine started to move and some quiet chanting started across the street at the temple. In America, New Year's Eve is a time for big parties and lots of noise. Just before midnight we start counting down the seconds, loudly, until midnight. Then we all yell and make a lot of noise. Everyone hugs and kisses each other, people drink champagne, and there are fireworks in many cities. 

New Year's Eve is a big party, but New Year's Day is usually pretty quiet. People are tired from staying up late so they rest. Maybe they go out for lunch with their friends or go to the movies. Many people make "New Years Resolutions" or special promises to themselves that this year they will try certain things or meet a goal. 

Here are my New Year resolutions:  

1) To try and find a Japanese tutor so I can improve my Japanese. 

2) To start an ALT post office so I can talk more with all the students at school and help them practice English. 

3) To visit some more Japanese gardens. I love Japanese gardens! 

I made some other resolutions too, but I can't tell you all of them. Some are a secret!  :)