Japanese New Year

 

Japanese New Year Celebration is coming !We celebrate New Year's Day on January 1st each year instead of Christmas day and its coming very soon!
Japanese New Year called Oshōgatsu was originally based on the Chinese lunar calendar and 2011 will be a year of the rabbit.
It is considered the most important annual festival and has been celebrated since the Heian period (794-1185 ) with its own unique Japanese customs.
The uniqueness of this festival is that all cards or presents must be delivered on 1st January.You can imagine this day is the busiest day of the year for the Japanese postman.


New Years Eve is the time for everyone to be eating Japanese Soba noodles!
Traditionally 80-90% of the hundred million plus population eat the same noodles, called Soba “ Japanese noodles, just before the clock hits midnight on New Year’s Eve , everyone wishes everyone else a long , healthy and prosperous life.

New Years’s Day January 1st
Its like Christmas day here for famiies in Japan.
Every one goes back and stays with their family, and they celebrate New Year together and eat traditional Japanese New Year foods called OSECHI-Ryori and Sake Called OTOSO.
Typically, the foods are presented beautifully in lacquer boxes called JUBAKO (which resemble bento lunch boxes and later) they also present the food beautifully in small individual Japanese plates. Traditionally many of the delicacies inside are named in hope of the families' health and prosperity and the main dishes are colorful vegetables, fish, black beans and so on.


What is so unique about Japanese New Years food ?
If you go to a Japanese restaurant , you can see Japanese food is presented beautifully on selected plates and bowls....
This Japanese food presentation strongly influenced the French nouvelle cuisine and modern British food from Gordon Ramsay and so many celebrity chefs in the world ...

Traditionally Japanese food and plate and presentation have meanings.
Therefore our Osechi food has such meanings and each dish is cooked in a different way ( boiled, steamed, marinated, grilled etc..)
It is according to the nature of the food and seasons that we use plates and bowls in different colours, shapes, textures and patterns. That's why the arrangement and presentation of tableware is really important for Japanese food.
We also say that we enjoy our food three times, first by looking at the beautiful presentation and second by the flavour and texture of the food, and finally its delicious taste!

It is an art to select the tableware which will make the food look its best.

Please see our wide selection of authentic Japanese pottery and porcelain in the Japan Originals online store and we would be very happy if you could get some new idea or new inspiration from our Japanese tableware.

Why don't you cook just a little bit more authentically and enjoy your food in different way .
By just adding one or two exquisite Japanese bowls or plates for olives or for desserts or choose one of our traditional soy sauce holders.

You can use it for table vinegar and it would be quite fun for drinking Sake on 1 January with our Mino or Imari Sake holder.

Then celebrate your family’s healthy , happy life in 2011.

Here are some examples of OSECHI menu and meanings of the food.
Daidai, Japanese bitter orange. "from generation to generation” it symbolizes a wish for children in the New Year.
Datemaki, sweet rolled omelette mixed with fish soup and sugar. Symbolize a wish for many auspicious days.
Kamaboko, Fish cake. Traditionally slices of red and white kamaboko are arranged in a pattern. The color and shape means celebratory, festive.
Kazunoko, herring roe. Kazu means "number" and ko means "child". It symbolizes a wish to be gifted with numerous children in the New Year.
Konbu, a kind of seaweed. It is associated with the "joy".
Kuro-mame, black soybeans. soybeans means "health," symbolizing a wish for health in the New Year.
Tai, red sea-bream. Tai is symbolizing an auspicious event and cerebration
Tazukuri, dried sardines cooked in soy sauce. The symbol of an abundant harvest.
Zōni, a soup of mochi white rice cakes. Wishing long life.
Ebi, skewered prawns cooked with sake and soy sauce.

*See our website http://www.japanoriginals.com/
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