Early mornings, sitting beside the Christmas tree with a warm cup of green mint tea in my hands was a sentimental moment of when I once had my parents and my faith.
I had the television on as the news was reporting all over Japan regarding the celebrations and festivities that Christmas Day had brought.
Keiko however did not celebrate Christmas like the Westerners, as she was a Buddhist. And though I once celebrated Christmas as Jeremy Kallis; now as Nanami Tamaya, Christmas just did not feel like my own personal 'religious' holiday anymore.
I wasn't a Christian any longer. In fact, I did not have a personal religion that I belonged to. I just practiced Shinto, one of Japan's oldest spiritual faiths as that was what I knew about my soul.
Yet...both Keiko and I agreed that we did not need to be anti-Christmas or believe in the Westerners faith to enjoy Christmas.
To us, 'Kurisumasu' was a festival of love and joy. A time to head out with your friends and family to shop. A time for romantic evenings with your beloved sweetheart. Christmas was all about Peace on Earth.
Last night, on Christmas Eve, Keiko, Miki, Kaori and I sat around the dinner table with Christmas music playing in English and decorating the Christmas tree while we sang carols in Japanese.
Dinner was delicious! Roasted chicken that my sister prepared with many root vegetables on the side. We had a kurisumasu keeki for dessert which is a sickening sweet cake, colorfully decorated.
Today...there will be no cooking! A day that my Onee-chan takes off and allows KFC to supply all of our dinner. Here in Japan, KFC has been on the table in many households since 1974 when the Colonel first came to Japan.
Most do not consider today as the apex of the year...which is fine with me, as I accepted my nationality...it was Oshōgatsu! The Japanese New Year, that we all look forward to! A time of renewing our luck and blessings. A day which—in a strange way—is everyone's birthday; if you follow the Eastern Calendar.
For Onee-chan and I, preparations for Oshōgatsu actually began on December 13th as we meticulously cleaned our house, the outside, and even the neighborhood. Our house needed to be purified to welcome Toshigami to our dwelling.
My sister sent out the Nengajo, greeting postcards, to all of our friends and her colleagues at work to wish them a very happy New Year. Something like Nengajo has been tradition for well over one thousand years, when people would send letters to let others know that they were alive and well...just like chain letters here in the modern age. It is such an important tradition that the Japan Post makes certain that all letters are delivered by the 1st of the month.
At the shrine, we set out the kagami mochi which is a two-tiered circular rice cake topped with an orange and decorated with two paper shide's. Even at home, I set out my own kagami mochi on the altar, right next to a bottle of amazake.
'Ahhh...Kurisumasu morning...it is so peaceful!' as I listened to the news program in Tokyo. The screen then turned to a bunch of people kissing in a pine-lit grove as I got all grossed out, immediately looking away. "Eww...I do not want to see that!"
"You are up early, Imouto-chan." Keiko said as she came into the living room.
"I just like to sit here and attempt to remember the past—though it is getting harder to remember anything!" I pouted as it was a cost for living as Nanami. I reached over and handed my Onee-chan a gift. "Meri Kurisumasu, Onee-chan."
"Aww, Nanami-chan! You didn't have to get me anything!" she said, shocked as she accepted my gift. She began unwrapping it, seeing that it was a pair of fox-shaped earmuffs. "Aww, they are so cute!"
YOU ARE READING
To Cure A NEET
Science Fiction"Jeremy was once a successful man with a promising career, a lovely girlfriend, friends galore, and everything that he could ever desire in the world. So, how did he become a useless NEET, nearly overnight?" That is the question his sister posed in...
