I thought it would be good to get in the Christmas spirit by posting some Christmas songs in Japanese.
The first one is the Japanese version of “Silent Night” :
This one is the Japanese version of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” :
Lastly, this the Japanese version of “Jingle Bells” :
November is the time for some interesting Japanese festivals. Take a look at some of these festivals :
The Onomichi Betcha Festival (尾道 ベッチャー祭り) is a festival where men dress as demons and pretend to thrash children as they walk by. It’s an old custom that traces back to a time when people believed that you could “beat” an illness out of a child.
Sukagawa Taimatsu (須賀川松明) is a large fire festival where tall straw storage stalks are burned. The straw storage stalks are normally used to contain rice, but the rice is taken out and the straw is burned. The straw bins can be at least ten feet high.
Shichi Go San Festival (七五三) is an nationwide festival in Japan. To read more about it go here : http://www.transparent.com/japanese/shichi-go-san-七五三-festival/
Here is a video showing how Japanese kids get dressed up for the festival :
There are lots of Japanese festivals in October. Here are some of my favorite festivals.
The Sawara festival (佐原祭り) is a festival where men push around a palanquin with a large doll mounted on the top of the palanquin.
Yabusame festival (流鏑馬祭り) is a festival where men dress up as samurai and draw their bows on horseback.
Warai Festival (笑い祭り笑い祭) is a festival where people laugh in unison to the sound of jingling bells.
The Kishiwada Danjiri Festival (岸和田だんじり祭) is a cart pulling festival. The cart is made of wood and decorated with cards, gifts, ornaments and flowers. It’s believed that the spirit resides in the cart, so all sorts of offerings and written prayers are placed in the cart. The highlight of the festival involves the pulling and pushing of the cart by the townspeople.
In the Kishiwada Danjiri Festival, the men push the wooden carts by a system of ropes and wheels. The carts are pulled and pushed by using the strength of the men. There are also several men who ride atop the cart. These men hold their fans for balance and adjust their movements to the movements of the cart.
In order to organize the movement of the cart, there are musicians who set the rhythm or the pace of movement. The Kishiwada Danjiri Festival can get dangerous. When the carts are moving especially fast, the cart may careen into people or buildings. The men riding the cart may even fall off, especially if they lose their balance. Despite the danger, the Festival is still observed and appreciated by spectators.
Tsukimi (月見) is a very low key festival. It’s celebrated on the 15th of the eight month on the lunar calendar. It’s said that the 15th of the eighth month is when the moon is the brightest and fullest. People go outside to see the moon, and as you can see, it’s very visible in the dark :
A common tradition is to make white, round, sweet dumplings called tsukimi dango (月見団子); which are made in the shape of a round moon.
If you’re wondering what those round, brown things were in the video, those were chestnuts. The 15th of the eighth month on the lunar calendar is a day of large harvests. The chestnuts symbolize the plentiful harvest.
