Sentiment of the Season

When I packed for Japan in February of 2018, I packed light. I often under prepare for things, avoid over thinking, and jump right in with a prayer and a hope that God will catch me on the way down. It is now our second Christmas season in Japan, and both years I have regretted not packing more stuff, especially mementos. I am also not very sentimental, and I only packed the necessities thinking we would create a million new memories that would replace the sting of the loss of all the familiar we left behind. But I was wrong, we needed those memories to spark and sustain the warmth and peace of the holiday season in a country that does not celebrate Christmas on an American scale, and that is over 10,000 miles away from our loved ones. As we decorated the house and put up our Christmas tree, I wished we had some of the girls old handmade ornaments. I wished we could hang the glass bulbs my mom gave us when we first started our family. I wanted to place the blingy fun mini Christmas tree my friend Lynn gave me from London on our side table, and to display the manger Loren’s mom gave us.

We definitely have had to try a little harder here to bring out the Christmas spirit. I look around me and there is no snow, no Santa at the mall, and a workday sitting heavy on Christmas day. There are no family dinners, gift exchanges, or little Christmas villages serving hot cocoa. I had my mom bring me a million fun flavored candy canes and Reese’s peanut butter trees from America when she came in the middle of the month. The girls and I have been crafting like crazy making new ornaments for the tree. I forced myself to bake homemade sugar cookies for the girls to decorate, and thankfully church hosted a kid’s Christmas party (that even included a gift handed out from Santa!). Recently Christmas has been gaining popularity in Japan. Mostly they celebrate with a gift from Santa and a bucket of KFC fried chicken, or see it as a fun time to dress in Santa cosplay. I am very thankful when we spot a Christmas decoration display, or when I hear Christmas music playing at the mall. Although, few here know the real meaning of Christmas. They do not know who Jesus is, or that on Christmas day we celebrate his birth. I hear “joy to the world, the Lord has come” playing in the mall as I shop for pajamas, and I wonder if anyone else is paying attention.

We recently finished hosting another successful Thanksgiving meal at church this year. We had 86 people attend (16 more then we planned!), and 26 more than last year. We felt so blessed seeing all the people we love and care about show up, and for many it was their first time stepping inside a church building. It was so much fun watching people eat turkey for the first time, and enjoy all the American side dishes they have never had before. We worked hard prepping and cooking with our friends and church family, and it brought everyone closer and really prepared our hearts for the holiday season.

We also took at trip to Yamanashi to visit Mt. Fuji. We can tell the girls are more adjusted to Japan life (well, all of us probably), and this trip was one of the most enjoyable so far.

Aokigahara forest, trees grown over lava raock

…and as I find myself still writing this on January 1st I’ll dedicate a few lines to Christmas and New Years. My mom was here for 10 days, and since the girls were in school most of the time, the two of us were able to hang out. We had lunch dates, went shopping, and chatted. That is the most company I have had in a long time, and it was nice to have both a friend and a helper around the house. After she left, we spent Christmas in Tokyo and had a lot of fun things planned. We prepped for the Ghibli museum by catching up on our Japanese anime, and even though I bought tickets to our venues ahead of time, we still battled crowds everywhere we went. I had my reservations about visiting such a large city with the girls, but Tokyo is the cleanest, most polite city I have ever visited. I would not want to be there for the 2020 Olympics, and I could do without all sides of my body being pressed against strangers on a train, but it was really enjoyable. Visiting there was like entering another dimension in Japan, filled with variety and wonder…and a lot of good food! Our goal was to eat all things non-Japanese, because the choices in our city are few (although still pretty delicious). We even found a Taco Bell and ate a huge taco feast!

Foolery on a packed train, and still people minded their own business

We tried to have a New Years celebration, but none of us lasted past 10:30 p.m. and Loren had to carry us all upstairs to bed. Here is Japan, New Years day is a big holiday. We have now entered into the year of the rat, according to the Chinese zodiac calendar that Japan follows. A lot of people spent this day visiting the local shrine, eating special obento, gifting envelopes of money to their children, and exchanging New Year’s greetings cards. Here are also a few random pictures.

Gold laden huts in the shrine, with thick thatched stick roofs

We are spending the last few days of holiday resting, eating, and doing a little organizing. We are really thankful for all that 2019 brought us. Prayers for everyone to have a blessed 2020. Thank you for reading!