The Japanese Student Association celebrated the Japanese New Year last Saturday, greeting each other with the full saying akemashite omedetou gozaimasu, Japanese for “Happy New Year!” Organized by Taro Omiya, president, and Geneve Lung, vice president, the event was full of Japanese customs and friendly conversation.
Refreshments consisted of green tea and mochi, a traditional New Year’s snack. Mochi is boiled sticky rice formed into a dumpling, fried, and served with soy sauce. It is eaten in celebration of the New Year.
Another New Year’s tradition the JSA presented was Omikuji, a fortune-telling game. The player takes the Omikuji and shakes out a stick with a number printed on it. The number then corresponds to a certain fortune, ranging from very good luck to rather poor luck for the year.
Other traditional games included Hyakanian Ishyo, a card game similar to Go Fish, in which the goal is to collect as many cards as possible until the deck is depleted, and Fukuwarai. Fukuwarai translates to “Lucky Laugh,” and is similar to Pin the Tail on the Donkey. A blank face serves as the backdrop, and the player must try to place eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and eyebrows on the face while blindfolded. For their celebration, the JSA used the recognizable faces of president Barack Obama and celebrity Jessica Simpson.
Everyone who attended the JSA’s celebration of the Japanese New Year left having experienced a great time and learned more about Japanese traditions.
