^Setsubun - the Feb. 3 Japanese holiday welcoming Spring -
Is celebrated by Mamemaki - "Bean throwing". Its a ritual said to rid the house of evil from the previous year and drive away evil for the year to come.
This ritual is done by throwing beans out the door or at a family member wearing a mask of a demon or ogre. The throwers yell, "Oni wa soto, Fuku wa Uchi" "Evil out! Luck in!"
Then the family eats soybeans or peanuts - one for each year of their life.
Makizushi - or hand made sushi is also typically eaten at this time. Tonight in the grocery store I saw shelves of soybeans and peanuts on one side (see above photo) and nori or seaweed and the ingredients for the makings of temakizushi on the other. There was also a banner with an ogre on it - you can see his orange legs and club in the top right of the photo. Sorry -couldn't get a clear photo of it.
Another thing I noticed in the grocery store is shown in this photo. The aisle of cup noodle, ramen, udon, and other instant noodle meals - it reminded me of cereal aisles in the states. These are popular lunches for the students - especially on cold days. The school canteen has them for sale, too. Simply add hot water and sauce then wait about 3 minutes. Lunch is served. There is a range of prices this photo shows them being sold for 128 yen and 69 yen ($1.50 and $.85).
2 comments:
You would be shocked to see the salt content on a Cup Noodle. Extremely high!!! I let Luke have one maybe once every 6 months.
Chris - that's good to know! I find reading the food labels challenging - but perhaps I should start paying more attention. Do they make low salt versions?
Post a Comment