Category: Oh Holidays

The White Day Gifts

Oh my goodness, you guys.
I got so many White Day gifts again this year.
Yummy chocolate.
Yummy candy.
It’s like they want me to gain weight.
But I’m too happy with these delicious gifts to care!
White Day is a holiday that started in Japan.
It’s a day to return the favor for the gifts
you received on Valentine’s Day.
And as women give to the men on Valentine’s Day in Japan
White Day is usually when the women receive gifts from the men.
This tradition is said to have come from the Japanese way
of always returning the favor when you receive a gift.
This actually used to drive me crazy.
Like when I sent my friend a gift when she had her baby
she sent me back a small hand towel gift.
Or when we gift money at the wedding reception
and we receive a bag of thank-you-for-coming gifts in return.
It never made sense to me.
Why do we give you a gift to celebrate
if you’re going to give something back to us?
Why not just a thank you note?
Now I feel like I have to give you something else
in return for the gift you gifted me for my gift to you.
(see? all these gifts get super confusing!)
But I’ve learned that we Japanese do this
because we have a strong sense of community.
(thus giving leads to receiving)
Also heard that we Japanese dislike being in debt to others.
(thus receiving leads to giving)
And through all these cultural characteristics of Japan
White Day came to be a holiday to return Valentine’s Day gifts in 1978.
And that is why I get boxes of delicious gifts
in return for my Valentine’s Day cookies on White Day!
Quite the holiday, huh?

The Green Striped Flats

Are you wearing green?
I wore my green striped flats today.
Today is St. Patrick’s Day and there were parades to celebrate
in various parts of Japan, including Tokyo, today!
You might wonder why in the world we celebrate
St. Patrick’s Day in Japan.
Well, besides the fact that Japan loves Irish beer,
the Irish have made many contributions to Japan in the past.
I learned from the Irish Embassy website that the first record of
an Irish person setting foot in Japan was way back in 1704.
Also, in 1906 an Irish reverend, who was teaching at Keio Univesity,
brought the sport hockey into Japan by teaching his students how to play.
The Japanese university hockey league currently has
24 men’s teams and 16 women’s teams.
And did you know that the first version of our national anthem
was composed by an Irish bandmaster who trained brass bands by soldiers?
It’s not the national anthem we sing now
but still, that is a pretty big deal.
Oh, and we can’t forget the talented Irish architect
who designed the street plan for Ginza after the fire of 1872.
No wonder the streets of Ginza were so modern!
I really had no idea Japan and Ireland has so many connections.
I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland
to explore their rolling hills and beautiful scenery.
But learning about our history
makes me want to visit even more now!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!

The Valentine’s Day Cookies

This four day week was so so busy at work
I was worried I wouldn’t be able to make anything.
But I did!
Did I have to kind of threaten my coworker
to let me go home if he wanted something the next day?
(Yes, I did.)
Was I planning on making something more elaborate
but thought…ugh cookies are so much easier?
(Yes, yes I did.)
Did I stay up until 2am baking cookies and
writing Valentine’s Day messages and fall asleep on the floor?
(Yes, oh yes I did.)
But I’m so glad I did!
Seeing the happy smiles on my coworkers faces
and the fun I ended up having was worth every minute 😀
Valentine’s Day Cookies
(adapted from Two Tarts)
Ingredients:
3 2/3 cups  flour
1 1/4 tsp  baking soda
1 1/2 tsp  baking powder
1/2 tsp  coarse salt
200g  butter
1 1/4 cup  brown sugar
1 cup  granulated sugar
2  eggs
2 tsp  vanilla extract
3/4 cup  strawberry chocolate chips
1/4 cup  chocolate chunks
Directions:
1.
Preheat oven to 180℃.
2.
Mix dry ingredients in one bowl.
Mix butter and sugar in another bowl.
Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat together.
3.
Add dry mix to butter mix
and combine well.
Add the chocolate chips/chunks.
4.
Make a golf ball sized ball of dough
and flatten it slightly on the baking sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
*You can use whatever chocolate you want.
Or even use raisins or nuts.

*Even if the middle of the cookies is still gooy
take out of oven when the edges get brown.
Once it cools it’ll be the perfect amount of chewy!

I made so much I took some extra for my girlfriends at work.
And yes, I ate a few hundred myself, too!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

The Next Holiday

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes
Is it too early to be thinking about Valentine’s Day?
I know a lot of people don’t like this holiday
because of the commercial hype.
But I like it.
I even kind of love it.
One of the reasons is because
the men at work really look forward to
getting a Valentine’s Day gift.
Oh yeah, in Japan the girls give something
to the guys on Valentine’s Day.
(We have another day for the guys to give back to girls…White Day)
I used to bake cookies and cupcakes
because I had so many people I needed to give to at work
and I was totally broke so it was cheaper to bake.
But then last year,
there were more girls in my section
and since we could all split the cost for chocolate
I bought my coworkers Pierre Marcolini chocolate.
And I thought they would be happy to get good chocolate, right?
I actually got complaints!!!
They were like
Homemade cookies are much more heartfelt and
Where’s the effort in buying chocolate?

Well, I’ll tell you my effort!
I waited in line for 30 min to buy that
chocolate on the day before Valentine’s Day.
(Most chaotic day in the sweets section…never again.)
But it was also kind of nice that they liked my baking.
Which means I need to make something
better than what I made in 2011.
What do you think of these recipes?
Brownie Heart Cupcakes

Cupid Cupcake

Raspberry Almond Financiers
(via Martha Stewart)

The New Years Service

It was really nice starting off the year at church.
The new years service was really inspiring.
We always have a potluck
after the new years service at church.
A full on traditional new years dish would be
the Osechi-ryori, a bento box filled with various foods
that have some sort of meaning behind it, to bring in the luck.
But we usually do a semi-traditional new years potluck
with dishes like Nimono (boiled vegetables),
Zenzai (red bean soup with mochi),
and Ozoni (mochi soup). 

But we did include a couple of traditional foods
that are eaten to bring us luck or a better new year.

We had Konbu (rolled seaweed).
It’s similarity to the word Yorokobu, meaning Joy,
is considered to be a very good thing.

Also had Kuromame (black soy beans).
It symbolized health and is meant
to wish everyone a healthy new year.

Considering how much we all ate
I think we are going to have a fabulous new year 😀

Oh! And we also took family pictures
for our Nengajo (traditional new year postcards)!
It’s been great welcoming a new year with family!

The First Light

In Japan it’s tradition to go out early on New Years Day
and to watch the first sunrise of the year.
We call it Hatsuhinode.
(pronounced “Hah-tsu-hee-no-deh”)
Sunrise in Ehime was 7:14am.
It’s always a pain waking up early on New Years Day
after being up so late the night before.
But last year for the first time
I woke up in time to see the sun rise.
And it felt great.
So I did it this year, too.
Basking in the rays of the first sunrise feels great.
And I am super energized for the new year!
I think this is going to be a tradition.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The Year of Snake

2013 is the year of snake.
As someone who is deathly scared of snakes
I’m not so sure how great this year is going to be.
But the year of snake is known to bring
much economic fortune and healthy child deliveries.
Japan is in desperate need of both so
hoping those things come true!
In preparation for new years
a lot of people in Japan make Nengajo.
Nengajo is a traditional new year postcard
that every one sends to each other.
They’re kind of like Christmas cards,
which we don’t really do in Japan.
Most people just print out their Nengajo these days
but I still like to make mine by hand.
And I finally sent out the bulk of mine today.
Hope they get to everyone by new years!

The Aiport

We went to see my baby sister off at the airport.
Thank goodness this was Japan.
We don’t really go home for Christmas
so it wasn’t crowded at all.
Not that I really care.
I LOVE airports.
And even though there’s barely any holiday traffic
we actually DO decorate for Christmas!!!

At first I thought the owls were creepy but
after a while they sort of grow on you.
Kind of like a Harry Potter themed tree.
Aren’t they weird?
Anyways, Lisa Naomi got through security
and gave us a quick wave and headed down to her gate.
She’s such a grown up.
I loved having her stay at my place for a week.
I’ll miss having her as a roommate.
But at least I’ll see her at the end of the month again!
Can’t wait 🙂