Happy New Year!

Today in Japan we welcomed the new year 2019 with a traditional feast called 'osechi'.  It comes in a huge 3-tiered wooden 'bento' box.  It is filled with many symbolic foods for beginning a happy new year.

Inside this wonderful box there are:

• shrimp for longevity
• lotus root for success
• candied chestnuts for wealth
• candied black beans for vitality

I hope your 2019 is filled with all of these things--

By the way, in the USA we don't really have such a special feast for the new year.  We do the big feasting with our families on Christmas.  (And we eat a lot!)  Our new year festivities are focused on midnight of New Year's Eve.  We throw huge public parties with friends and family to welcome the new year in with a BANG!  (Often with lots of champagne!)  Then we use the holiday of New Year's Day to recover by sleeping in late and watching parades on TV...

Wherever you are now, I hope you have a fun start to a happy and successful new year--