Читать книгу Japanese Traditions - Setsu Broderick - Страница 8

January

Tondo Festival

Happy New Year! Akemashite omedetō!

There was nothing as joyful in our childhood as New Year’s Day, and we could hardly wait for it to come. On New Year’s Day, families and friends enjoyed delicious New Year’s food and had fun together all day long. Outside, we flew kites, spun colorful tops, and played hanetsuki (a game like badminton). Inside, we played sugoroku (similar to backgammon) and card games like karuta.

One evening in the middle of January, our village celebrated the Tondo Festival. The men built a tall tower with bundles of bamboo. Then everyone brought their used New Year’s decorations and the whole thing was lit on fire. People prayed for their family’s happiness and good health through the year. It was very exciting to see the big flames and sparks lighting up the dark sky. We toasted kagami-mochi (large rice cakes) on the fire embers, and everyone ate them for good luck in the coming year. Somehow, the rice cakes always turned out to be charred ... but we didn’t mind eating them anyway!