{"id":168,"date":"2018-01-21T16:53:52","date_gmt":"2018-01-21T16:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.staciehibino.org\/stacie\/?p=168"},"modified":"2018-08-04T20:47:19","modified_gmt":"2018-08-04T20:47:19","slug":"family-tradition-and-culture-kodak-blog-december-28-2006","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.staciehibino.org\/stacie\/blog\/2018\/01\/21\/family-tradition-and-culture-kodak-blog-december-28-2006\/","title":{"rendered":"Family Tradition and Culture (Kodak Blog, December 28, 2006)"},"content":{"rendered":"

NOTE: This is a \u201creprint\u201d of my blog post to Kodak\u2019s previous \u201cA Thousand Words\u201d blog.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"dining<\/p>\n

In Japan, New Year\u2019s Day is a big holiday \u2013 a time for family to gather together and to start the new year off right.  As a Japanese American, I still celebrate New Year\u2019s Day with a traditional Japanese New Year\u2019s meal with my relatives every year.<\/p>\n

When I was little, I thought that New Year\u2019s Day celebration was that family gathering with some of those strange looking foods, some of which I really did not like too much.  As I grow older, I appreciate such family traditions much more.  It\u2019s not just about food, it\u2019s about celebrating culture and heritage.  It\u2019s also about reliving memories of New Year\u2019s days gone by and creating new memories of the current day.  And, it\u2019s about participating in the preparation so that we can pass on the tradition to the next generation.<\/p>\n

Some of the foods we eat on New Year\u2019s day include: mochi, kuromame, kazunoko, tazukuri, and ozone soup.  Mochi<\/a> is pounded sweet rice that has been shaped into a round cookie shape form; it is also sometimes cut into rectangles.  The Wikipedia entry for mochi<\/a> shows a picture of two men, one pounding mochi in a traditional mortar.  Although it was a long time ago, I\u2019ve actually made mochi that way with my relatives!  The fellow on the left side of the picture, who is holding the mallet, pounds on the rice in the mortar with a big swing while the fellow on the right side of the photo dips his hand in water (to reduce sticking to the rice!) and folds the working mochi over, in between the first fellow\u2019s swings.  (The second fellow has to work fast or he will get into trouble!)  It\u2019s quite a sight to see in person.  Today, my family still makes mochi every year, but we now use a modern day machine.  You can actually buy such a mochi maker machine at Amazon<\/a>.  I like to eat my mochi with kinako (toasted soy bean flour), which has been sweetened with sugar.  You can also eat mochi with sugar and soy sauce, or by dropping small pieces of mochi into ozone soup.  My mom has always told us that mochi has to be the first thing that we eat on New Year\u2019s Day, for good luck.<\/p>\n

\"kuromame\" \"kazunoko\" \"tazukuri\"<\/p>\n

Kuromame<\/em> \u2013 black beans boiled in syrup \u2013 are eaten for good health.  Kazunoko<\/em> is herring roe, but the eggs are not loose; it symbolizes procreation or a wish for fertility.  Tazukuri<\/em>, which is made with small sardines, symbolizes a good harvest.  In addition to these dishes, we also have plenty of sushi, sashimi, teriyaki chicken and other goodies.<\/p>\n

Every year, I think about making a cookbook full of pictures, traditional recipes and lots of family stories.  New online services like Lulu<\/a> and Blurb<\/a> are making it simple for everyday people like you and me to create such types of books.  Maybe 2007 will be the year that I actually complete the \u201ccookbook\u201d project!<\/p>\n

Happy New Year to you and your family \u2013 may it start and be filled with lots of love, joy and plenty of \u201cKodak moments!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NOTE: This is a \u201creprint\u201d of my blog post to Kodak\u2019s previous \u201cA Thousand Words\u201d blog. In Japan, New Year\u2019s Day is a big holiday \u2013 a time for family to gather together and to start the new year off right.  As a Japanese American, I still celebrate New Year\u2019s Day with a traditional Japanese […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[5,6,8],"tags":[9,7],"class_list":{"0":"post-168","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-kodak_blog","8":"category-photography","9":"category-tradition","10":"tag-holiday","11":"tag-kodak_blog","13":"post-with-thumbnail","14":"post-with-thumbnail-icon"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.staciehibino.org\/stacie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/2006_12_28-1_table_shot.jpg?fit=600%2C800","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9KV37-2I","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":187,"url":"http:\/\/www.staciehibino.org\/stacie\/blog\/2018\/01\/21\/motorcycle-mania-kodak-blog-august-6-2007\/","url_meta":{"origin":168,"position":0},"title":"Motorcycle Mania (Kodak Blog, August 6, 2007)","date":"January 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"NOTE: This is a \u201creprint\u201d of my blog post to Kodak\u2019s previous \u201cA Thousand Words\u201d blog. 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Now that we actually have some finished walls, I can actually\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "kodak_blog"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.staciehibino.org\/stacie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/2008_12_4_sunset.jpg?fit=800%2C600&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":161,"url":"http:\/\/www.staciehibino.org\/stacie\/blog\/2018\/01\/21\/photo-guest-book-photo-favors-kodak-blog-october-26-2006\/","url_meta":{"origin":168,"position":2},"title":"Photo Guest Book & Photo Favors (Kodak Blog, October 26, 2006)","date":"January 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"NOTE: This is a \u201creprint\u201d of my blog post to Kodak\u2019s previous \u201cA Thousand Words\u201d blog. 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