2014.1.7

It was fine but very cold today.

January 7 is known as nanakusa (七草), and we eat nanakusa gayu (七草粥), rice porridge with seven herbs.  Nanakusa literally means seven herbs.  This is a traditional custom to make the stomach rest after eating too much during new year's days.
When you are sick, what would you like to eat?  I think most Japanese people want to eat rice porridge.  This is our comfort food.  We usually eat it with umeboshi (梅干し), pickled plum.

2013.2.8

It was very cold today.
After work I went to look for something to the food corner of the department store.  Since this is the last Friday before St. Valentine's Day next week, there were so many women shopping chocolates.   In Japan there is a custom to give chocolate from women to men on St. Valentine's Day and give some sweets back from men to women after one month later on March 14 which is called White Day.
In USA not only women but also men give something such as card, flower, and/or chocolate to both men and women.  I remembered that I got shrimps from my host family who knew I like shrimps.
Which customs  do you prefer?

１１月２６日（jyuichi gatsu nijyuroku nichi）： November 26

It is a season for preparing the new year.
I have ordered the new year's post cards (年賀はがき: nenga hagaki) to be delivered at the post office and they were delivered today as I asked. Until last year there was a chance of getting a present for 50 postcards each, but this year it seems there is nothing like that.
I like to receive Christmas cards and New Year's cards to know how people close to me lead their lives. E-greetings are nice too, but I like to receive the hand-written mailed one best, though I cannot prepare many of them.

Today I was surprised to see the new year's decoration rice cakes (鏡餅：kagami mochi) at the supermarket. New year's cards are reasonable at this time, but foods seem a little bit early. Don't you think so?