Kimono Christmas

 This year I had the opportunity to get dressed in Kimono, traditional Japanese clothing.  I really wanted to wear Kimono to Christmas Eve service and one of the wonderful ladies at church arranged it. Three of my friends also decided to wear Kimono.  We were the talk of the night, especially us Americans.

Getting dressed in Kimono is not an easy process.  In fact,as there is much preparation.  There was shopping, and we kept getting measured.  The Kimono teacher met with us at least twice to make sure we had all the proper undergarments, layers, and accessories.  There was ironing and discussion of footwear and hairstyles.  Then the night of the big evening came and we had to arrive early and stand very still as we were dressed.  Nothing in Japanese culture is ever simple.  I was amazed at how complicated putting on a simple looking piece of clothing can be.  Every time I thought we were close to being done, Sensei pulled out another rope looking thing and tied something else around me. It took me more than 45 minutes to get dressed...more complicated than my own wedding dress.

I loved wearing kimono.  It was difficult to walk in, but this was the one time being a married woman with a child had an advantage.  My kimono had short "married" sleeves.  My obi was also tied in a way that I could bend over, lean back, and sit down to hold a child.  It was tight, but it felt really good to have back support.

Christmas Eve was beautiful and went well.  (Except for that part where Nozomi was upset that I forgot to take my keys when I went to read the texts and ran screaming across the sanctuary. A good reminder that we were all there to celebrate the birth of a noisy little child).

Christmas Day we celebrated by holding our annual evening Christmas party.  Over 30 people crammed into our tiny apartment to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Singing Hymns outside Tokyo Lutheran Church before worship.
(picture by Sachie)

Kaori, Cassie, Tauna, and Nozomi in Kimono.
(picture by Louise Lystig Fritchie)

Missionary Family on Christmas Eve.
(picture by Nozomi N.)

German Mulled Wine during our Christmas Party.
(picture by Junko)

Merry Christmas from the Roths!

Why I Love Christmas in Japan

 Nozomi is still napping and there is a little lull before our festive holiday activities continue.  I image there was a moment similar for the Holy Family.  Jesus sleeping peacefully at his mother's breast.  Joseph exhausted napping in the hay.  Mary just sitting back reflecting lovingly at her family, amazed by all things, never expecting that a bunch of shepherds are on their way to greet her son and things are about to get crazy.

This will be our fourth Christmas in Japan.  For a country that lacks Christianity, they sure love to celebrate Christmas.  I don't think most Japanese know why they are celebrating, but there is something marvelous in the way they've embraced our western Christmas traditions and put their own spin on it. How many other places how you seen a Christmas card with Santa and Baby Jesus?  Jesus has a way of sneaking into Christmas.  O' Little Town of Bethlehem plays in a department store. Stars top Christmas trees.  He's there if you are willing to look.

I love about Christmas aboard.  It's easier to focus on why we are celebrating.  It's been four years since I've been bombarded by Holiday commercials. We never have to make decisions about whose family to visit on Christmas.  And we can always blame the postal service when presents don't arrive on time. We can celebrate Christmas in our own way.

I'm so excited for this upcoming week.  Tomorrow we have the congregational worship and Christmas party.  Japanese parties tend to feel boring, but I love the Christmas party because everyone is in a festive mood.  I also get to dress Nozomi up in a pretty Christmas dress and show her off.  One of my first memories of coming to Japan was attending the Christmas party, so it holds a fond place in my heart.

And I'm excited for Christmas Eve.  I talked several friends into wearing Kimono, traditional Japanese dress reserved for holidays and special events.  It's not common to wear it Christmas.  In fact, I've never seen anyone wear Kimono to our church.  But I really wanted to, so now a group of us is getting all dressed up.

My favorite thing Christmas Eve is walking home from church.  All the convenience stores have made their employees dress as Santa and sell Christmas cakes on the street.  We greet each one with a cheerful Merry Christmas.  Our little family makes our way home to our quiet apartment, exhausted and happy.

Christmas Preparations

I made the mistake of telling my toddler the nativity story. She loved it.  Sheep, twinkly stars, presents, and a cute cuddly baby.  She now expects there to be a live newborn baby at Christmas Eve service.  I'll just add that to my to-do list.

This week leading up to Christmas was going to be low-key, but it's getting packed with Christmas festivities.  Monday we woke up and watched the Packers while eating green french toast made by the little one.  Then I ventured out and showed the new J3 the international market.

Today we took a trip to Costco and IKEA.  We don't have a car, so we bring a large suitcase on the train.  It takes us about 1 hour and 30 minutes to get there because of elevators and transfer trains. we at meatballs at 10:30am because they looked so delicious. We decided to get a turkey for New Year's Eve and Erik carried it home in my backpack.

Tomorrow I'm going to take Nozomi to the aquarium to see Santa.  I also read there is a Sea Lion show where they preform to handbells.  She'll love it.  Then we are going to eat curry for lunch and head to Toys R Us.

We have a guest staying with us for a few days, so I'm going to clean the house on Thursday and prepare room in our inn.  Erik is going to take Nozomi to her favorite place: A-so-bo-no, an indoor play park.

Friday we have an international potluck at playgroup.  I love potlucks with our international community.  They are scrumptious.

We have a day of rest on Saturday (maybe a good day to bake the 200 cookies I need for Monday), and then our marathon to Christmas Eve begins on Sunday with a large congregation worship and party.

It seems stressful and busy, but we love it.