The traditional custom for Mongolians in my hometown

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The traditional custom for Mongolians in my hometown

January 10, 2006 at 3:47 am | In Uncategorized | 10 Comments

The New Year has come, in Japan, this is one of the biggest festivals, and all family member will get together to celebrate it. And at the same time they cook delicious food for the family and call it osechi (御節). But what about my hometown? Do you known something about the Mongolians New Year? Let me give you a brief introduction to it.

For Mongolians the New Year begins with the Lunar New Year. And the Lunar New Year always is one month later than the Gregorian calendar (new style/the solar calendar). So in my hometown, for the Mongolians the New Year has not came yet. In this year, it will be on the 29th of this month. It is our custom to clean the room on the 23rd of December in Lunar Calendar. In other words, it does just one week before the Lunar New Year. In Japan they also have the same habit, and they call it oosoujio (大掃除). On that day, we will take all the day to clean the house; I was so tired but we like it. Because we have very delicious dinner waiting for us cooked by my mum. The dinner consists of mutton and amsu (in Mongolian), it is like rice porridge, we put the pieces of meat in it, and some cheese, peanuts, sometimes we also put some vegetables in it.

After the dinner, the very important thing for us to do is worship kitchen god. In other words it means we offer sacrifices to the fire gods. In the ancient times, Mongolians lived a nomadic life. The fire is so important for them. Without the fire, I think the Mongolian culture will not be spread generation by generation.

Put the fire bowl in the open air, and light the burnable materials that were put in the fire bowl. Put the meet, foods and a little alcohol on the fire. This means we made sacrifices to the fire god to bless and protect us. We will kowtow in turn; form the elder to the younger. After all of this, the adults will come back to home, and the fire bowl belongs to the children. We play games around the fire and fire the fireworks. Although it’s cold outside and so late, nobody wants to go back home. At last, the fire is burning out, and we hate to let go of the fire bowl.

I think this kind of happiness only belongs to the children, and when I grew up, I couldn’t find it again, only it is left deeply impressed on my memory.

What about in Japan? Can you give me some image about the New Year? Because I found the New Year is so silent here in Japan. And this is totally different with us.

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That’s some vivid description in your post, very nice!

Takuya-kun has just posted a short piece on ozouni, the soup with rice cake that the Japanese have on New Year’s Day. Too quiet? Maybe the Japanese just don’t think of the new year as an occasion for matsuri-style extravagance and noise?

A few years ago I attended one of those new year ceremonies at a Buddhist temple where the big bell is struck 108 times and everyone — well, 108 people, anyway — gets to strike the bell once. Apparently they do a a ceremony like this at the Asian Art Museum
in San Francisco.

Comment by Rudolf — January 10, 2006 #

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Oops, this link got stripped out.

Comment by Rudolf — January 10, 2006 #

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Hi!

Let me introduce a Japanese New Year’s custom to you. In Japan, there are quite a few of these customs; for example, osechi ryouri, kagamimochi, hatsumode, motituki, and shimenawa. Do you know these customs?

Especially, I examined osechi ryori. The tradition started in the Heian period. Osechi are easily recognizable by their special boxes called jubako, which resemble bento boxes. Like bento boxes, jubako are often kept stacked before and after use.

Osechi have black soybeans, herring roe, tazukuri dried sardines cooked in soy sauce, kombu, sweet roasted chestnuts, red sea-bream, Japanese bitter orange, taro, kamaboko, kurikinton, mashed sweet potato with chestnut, rolled eggs and so on.

The dishes that make up osechi each have a special meaning celebrating the New Year. Let me give some examples. Black soybeans mean that everyone will keep their good health in the new year. Herring roe means “child�?: it symbolizes a wish to be gifted with children in the new year. Taro have almost the same meaning because taro have many children. Kombu is associated with the Japanese word yorokobu, meaning “joy,�? and red sea-bream, tai is associated with the Japanese word medetai, meaning an auspicious event. kamaboko, which is slices of red and white fish cakes alternated in rows or arranged in a pattern. The color and shape are reminiscent of the rising sun, and have a celebratory, festive meaning.

I don’t know how each food got to have each meaning, but I think it is interesting.

Comment by Daichi — January 14, 2006 #

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Flickr currently has 226 photos tagged osechi.

Comment by Rudolf — January 15, 2006 #

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Thank you very much for your comment; I think from your comment I got some general image about the Japanese new year food osechi! ☺☺☺☺☺

Comment by guoping — January 16, 2006 #

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Every year, I used to live through the New Year holidays without thinking too much, but this year I learned a little about the Japanese New Year. Shogatsu means the first three days or the first week of January. Business and schools close for one to two weeks and many people spend this time with their families. To prepare for shogatsu, they make osechi-ryori and set out kadomatsu, shimekazari and kagami-mochi.

Osechi-ryori, as Daichi says, are special dishes in a tiered lacquer box(jubako), for example, grilled or boiled dishes and vinegared dishes. They keep as they are for a while and reduce housekeeping. Osechi contents are respectively charged with wishes; for example, bream (tai) is “auspicious” (medetai) , herring roe (kazunoko) means “the prosperity for descendants” and sea tangle roll (kobumaki) is “please” (yorokobu). I like datemaki (a rolled omelet mixed with fish paste) the best. I love it.

Kadomatsu are decorations made with bamboo wreathed by assembled pine branches and sprays of plum trees. (In Japan, pine, bamboo, and plum trees are taken as good luck.) They are placed in front of the house gate.

Simekazari decorates doors and serves as a charm against evil spirits. It is made with a sacred straw rope and good luck charms like bitter oranges, ferns and lobster. When the new year period ends, shimekazari and kadomatsu are taken to Shinto shrines and burned.

Kagami-mochi is a set of two round, flat rice cakes, a small one on a large one. They are displayed on a stand and on top of kagami-mochi, bitter orange or hoshigaki is placed. They are displayed throughout the new year period and then taken down on January 11 and eaten. This is called kagami-biraki because the rice cake cracks and then it is split open by hand or with a hammer. The rice cakes are cooked as zenzai or zouni etc.

Comment by Yuuna — January 18, 2006 #

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I introduce some Japanese New Year’s customs: kadomatsu, tako-age, koma, kagami-biraki, otoshidama.

Kadomatsu is New year’s decorative pine branches. This pine branches are stood and decorated at the door of the house to invite God in the New Year. Tako-age is flying kite. Kite is a toy consisting of a light frame with thin material stretched over it, flown in the wind at the end of a long string. Koma is a sppining top. It is a conical, spherical, or pear-shaped toy that with a quick or vigorous twist may be set to spin. Kagami-biraki is cutting New Year’s round rice cakes with hands or wooden hammer. Cut round rice cakes are eaten as zouni, shiruko, etc. Otoshidama is a gift at the beginning of the year to celebrate New Year. Now it is often used as a custom which gives children money.

Comment by Takuya — January 18, 2006 #

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Hi!

I am very surprised that the Mongolian the New Year has not come yet. You can celebrate the New Year in Mongolia,also in Japan

By the way, do you know 1fuji2taka3nasubi? Fuji means Mt. Fuji, taka means hawk and nasubi means eggplant. It is said that to dream of them is an event of good omen. On January 1, to dream of Mt. Fuji is the best. On January 2 and 3, to dream of taka and nasubi is the best. The strong reason is that Ieyasu Tokugawa loves these.

Moreover, this story continues 4, 5 and 6! I don’t know 4shiougi5gotobako6rokuzatou.
Shiougi means fan to dance. Gotobako means tabako that geisha girl smoke. Rokuzatou means bald headed that sing to his or her own instrument accompaniment. It is said that people helped to get more chance.
I’ve never dreamed these, so I want to dream sometime.

Comment by Shinnosuke — January 18, 2006 #

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Sorry, I mistook 5gotabako for 5gotobako. Gotabako is correct.

Comment by Shinnosuke — January 19, 2006 #

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Comment by Mary-sh — January 28, 2009 #

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