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New Years in Japan

Entering into a new year is always a special time, and that couldn’t be any more true than it is in Japan. We enter into a new year with lots of hopes and expectations (good and bad) about what the year to come will bring. Only at the end of the year can we truly look back and see the year for what it really was. And when we look back at 2022, what a roller-coaster year it was!

This thumbnail summaries the year in such a great way I think

But when you talk about the New Year in Japan, you have to consider the fact that it is one of their biggest holidays. People go back to their hometowns to spend the holidays with their family. They eat special traditional meals that are full of meaning. In many ways, it reminds me of Thanksgiving in America, and shares many of the same aspects. This new year we tried the traditional Japanese meal, or Osechi, for the first time. The results were interesting.

In this video, we unintentionally did the major no-no in Japanese culture, which is passing food via chopsticks from one person to another. The reason? The only time you do that is at a certain type of funeral in Japan! And such is learning a new culture. You will make mistakes along the way, but the important thing is to learn from your mistakes and keep on learning!

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