Prepare for the New Year

 How do you spend your year-end holidays?  Many Japanese gather in their home. Also many students in Hokudai back to home too. I hope all of you to have happy winter vacation.

I came back to my home town a week ago. Today, I am going to write about a holiday in my home. I and my family make mochi (rice cake) yesterday. I write this event because I like making rice cake. Of course I like eating it. My family makes it by us in recent years. When I was child, my parents were busy and we bought rice cakes from shop. Last year I could not help to make it because I was preparing for entrance examination. Because I did not help making rice cake, I felt sad a little last year.
 

Way of making a rice cake is simple. First, put glutinous rice in water for a night. Next day we can make it in rice cake. After it is steamed, the rice become soft and like gluey. We put the hot steamed rice in mortar. At first we crushed it by a mallet. My father said that crushing the rise is important process. When it became more like rice cake, we pounded it. The mallet is heavy, so pounding the rice many times is hard work. After pounded well and the rice become gluey rice cake, making process is finished. The hot rice cake is put into a big tub. Then I made it into small balls. We put it in square case to make big square rice cake.

We pounded rice cake three times. This year, the glutinous rice was so tough. It had been so hot in this summer, the rice had less water and less gluier. We pounded the tough rice with trouble. I pounded too. But it need power and I could not pounded well.

There were big one and small one. We also made kagamimochi. It is big a pair rice cakes. One of them is larger than another and the smaller one is put on big one. My family put it on several place in my house. This picture is these kagamimochi. My brother piled up all of them and named the piled rice cake “Mochi Tower”.

 After finished making rice cakes we ate it. I ate kinako mochi (sweet soybean flour) and anko mochi (bean jam). Both of them were delicious. I am looking forward to eat them in the New Year again. Pounding rice cake is fun. And it is nice event for me.

 

  In addition, there is my favorite event on the last day in year. We went to a small shrine at midnight. The shrine is near my house, so we walk to there. This year, my father and my mother went with me. I am glad. At the small shrine, there are many people and welcome us. There are many paper lanterns and red light is illusory. I like this scene. It suits New Year’s Day very much.

Well, I wish you a happy New Year!