Journey in Japan: 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.