My New Year 2010

It is 2010.
My way to welcome the new year happened without any big party or fireworks. Instead I spent the last day in 2009 together with my family and in-laws at home. Does it sound a little bit boring? Well, actually it was...a bit...
After cleaning the house (which is still not clean...) we went over to my parent-in-laws for dinner. My husband's grandmother and brother were also there. Sushi was on the menu and later we had soba. To eat soba New Year's Eve, is a Japanese tradition and symbolizes long life (we all want that...with happiness of course).
The rest of the evening I was home alone with the baby and only enjoying the company of my sister & brother on the internet. My husband had to work. He did come back before 2009 was over, and we celebrated it with beer, cheap sparkling wine with strawberry taste and chips...(I know...but you gotta take what you can get...) while we were listing to the sound from a bell on TV...

The next day we all met for lunch, which my mother-in-law had prepared. I think it's the tradition to eat special New Year's food the first day in the new year together with your closest family. We were total 11 persons.

Special Japanese plates and cups in red/black colours were on the table. Only use for that day. For this meal we had sake with and without blowfish fin, shrimps that are symbols for long life, black beans and fish eggs that respectively symbolize to work hard and fertility...etc...and not to forget the sicky rice ( not my favorite...too sticky). I am not sure, what it is a symbol of, but sticky rice is a very popular thing to eat when you celebrate something here in Japan...

The 2. day I went to a Shrine with my husband, baby and brother-in-law as a part of welcoming the new year. It's the costume to go and pray for a good year at a Shrine (or Temple) either New Year's Eve or the following days after. So we did.

I really enjoy the Japanese way of celebrate New Year with the traditions and the spirtuel elements. Not that I don't like the big party thing with champagne and fireworks. That kind of celebration is also great (minus the drunken people), but I find it to some extent very peaceful and beautiful to enter the new year in a more quiet way...even though it may sound and can be boring.