Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! It’s 2019’s the year of the ‘Earth Pig/Boar.

I wish we have good health and good year in 2019.

We celebrate the New Year Day with traditional New Year foods called Osechi Ryori (おせち料理). It is considered the most important meal of the year as each dish serves as a well wishes for the coming year.

Osechi Ryori (御節料理) are the traditional foods enjoyed on New Year’s day in Japan. They come in an assortment of colorful dishes packed together in special boxes called jubako, which resemble bento boxes. Every dish of these traditional foods has special meaning in welcoming the New Year. I can’t find all of osechi’s food, so I picked some food I can find in U.S. I usually put in jubako box, but I display them on each plate this year. I also prepared Toshikoshi soba and Oshiruko on the 2nd day of January.

Here are some means for Osechi Ryori;

Black Beans:

Kuromame (黒豆) are meant to be a symbol of health, with the associated idea that the person will be able work hard in the year to come.

Datemaki:

An omelette mixed with mashed shrimp or hanpen (fish paste). It tastes a little bit different from the tamagoyaki that you might be used to, but it’s rolled into a similar shape, which happens to look like a scroll from the side. That’s why this particular food is associated with learning and scholarship.

Kuri Kinton:

These are sweet dumplings that are made from chestnuts. Because they’re yellow in color, they’re associated with gold, and eating them is meant to bring financial prosperity in the year to come.

Kohaku Kamaboko:

Kamaboko is a kind of fish cake, and kōhaku means red and white. The colors represent Japan (most easily found on the country’s flag), and are generally considered to be good luck. According to some, the red color is meant to prevent evil spirits, while white represents purity. Incidentally, Kōhaku Uta Gassen is one of the most popular TV shows that people watch on New Year’s Eve, and it’s a singing competition between two teams – the white and the red.

Soba:

When soba is eaten on New Year’s Eve, it is known as toshikoshi soba (年越し蕎麦), and it is meant to bring the eater a long, fine life – just like the shape of the soba itself.