Happy Valentines Day!

All the stores are filled with chocolate right now. Chocolate and lots of products for baking. It seems like cooking or baking something is a big part of Valentine's Day in Japan. I love to bake, so I think this is a great idea! In America, I often bake cupcakes for Valentine's Day, but many people just give out cards or chocolate. 

I think in Japan Valentine's Day is a day where women usually give gifts to men and then on White Day the women get gifts. Did I get that correct?  In America, we don't have a White Day. Instead everyone gives gifts to each other on Valentine's Day. Usually you celebrate with a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, etc. but many people also give little presents or small cards to their friends and/or coworkers, just for fun. 

In school, many students give each other little cards. Small Valentine's Day cards are sold in all the stores this time of year.  The cards often have cartoon or movie characters on them. Students give cards to each other at school and sometimes chocolate. In the past, it was also popular to make your own cards and give them away. My mother still loves to make her own cards. She has a bag filled with little pieces of red and pink,  pictures of flowers, and small pieces of decorated paper. When I was little we'd take the bag out every year at Valentine's Day and make dozens of Valentines for all our friends. I don't live with my mother any more, but she still uses the bag to make valentines every year!

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!  :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday, America celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving is about "giving thanks." Americans take a day to share a meal with their friends and family. Many people also collect food to give to charity or volunteer their time to help the poor. At Thanksgiving we try to stop and appreciate the world around us and say thank you to our friends and family for their help and support. 

But Thanksgiving isn't just a serious holiday.  It is also about eating a lot of really good food and spending time with your family and friends. Each year there is a huge Thanksgiving parade in New York City. Thanksgiving is also a big day for sports. There are many different (American) football games played that day. Many people will go to these event with their friends and family or watch them together on television. 

For many Americans, Thanksgiving is also a sign that autumn is ending and Christmas is coming. After today, Christmas is less than a month away. 

Happy Halloween!

To celebrate, I'm getting together with a bunch of other ALTs. We're going to wear costumes and do karaoke. That seems like a fun way to celebrate Halloween in Japan, doesn't it? 

I haven't decided what my costume will be though! I might dress as Mount Fuji. What do you think? Any ideas?

the history of Halloween

Halloween originally comes from Ireland. It is a very old holiday and it has changed a lot from the original version. Because it is so old, the history gets a little unclear. You may hear a few different versions of where Halloween comes from. This is most accurate version that I know.

Today’s Halloween has its roots in Ireland and the holiday of Samhain. Samhain is a very ancient traditional holiday that celebrates the end of the harvest season. The ancient Irish believed that the barrier between the living and the dead disappeared during this time of year. Because of this, it was considered a scary and dangerous time of year. People were afraid that the dead would come visit them and cause sickness or damage crops. To scare or confuse these evil spirits people burned bonfires. They also wore costumes and masks to make themselves look like spirits. At some point people also began going from house to house. They collected offerings (usually food) to be used to appease the spirits and protect both the people and the land. This is where the custom of trick or treating began. The people believed that doing these things would either scare evil spirits away, confuse them, or keep them from being angry. 

Many of today’s American Halloween traditions come from these ancient practices. The costumes which people once wore for protection have now become part of the fun. The jack o'lantern used to be made from turnips, rutabagas, and gourds to keep evil away. But in America, big orange pumpkins are now carved at Halloween. Instead of scaring away visitors, the jack o'lanterns encourage trick-or-treaters to visit and celebrate the holiday. 

a month of Halloween

In America we celebrate Halloween on October 31st. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. As a child, I loved thinking of costumes to wear and how I would make them. My mother is really creative and good and making things so she was always able to help me as well. 

Over the years I have dressed in many different costumes. Some of them were: 

• Little Bo'peep
• Little Red Riding Hood
• The Sugar Plum Fairy
• A Gypsy
• A Book Worm
• The Season of Autumn
• A Mailbox 
• A Princess

I also really enjoy carving pumpkins to make Jack o'lanterns. Each year we would go to the pumpkin patch to choose a pumpkin. There are hundreds to choose from but you look and look to find one with a shape that is right for you. Then you take it home and start to think about what you're going to carve. Will it be a scary face? A funny one? Will you do a picture instead of a face? 

Our pumpkins are usually pretty big so we use a big knife and huge spoon to carve the pumpkin. First you cut open the top (around the stem) and scoop out all the seeds inside. (Usually we save these and will eat them later.)  Next you start cutting the eyes, nose, face and other details. (It's a good idea to draw these in pencil first, just in case you make a mistake.) When you're finished, you put a candle inside, put the pumpkin outside your house and you have a jack o'lantern!

Why do we dress in costumes and carve pumpkins on Halloween? To answer that I have to explain a little more about Halloween. I'll do that in my next post.