N E W Y E A R ' S D A Y

By Miko Ushio, Miyu Omizo, Kaori Kilunaga, Manami Yoshida

We pay a visit to the shrine on New Year's Day. At the shrine, we worship the God. We put money into the offering box and then we make our wish. People say that if you put a lot of money, your wish will come true, but this is not true. No matter how little or how much money you put, your wish can come true.

In the shrine, we can pick up a fortune for the coming year. There are different kinds of fortune. For example: very good luck, good luck, luck, bad luck and very bad luck. However, the fortune is not always true.

N E W Y E A R ' S D A Y

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On January 1^st, we eat Ozouni and Osechi and we drink sake in the morning. During New Year, adult and relatives give children money. In the morning, we go to the shrine to wish for a good year. We also go get our fortune. When we make a wish, we throw money into the box. If our fortune is bad, we tie the fortune paper on the tree. At the entrance of our house, a bird with an orange is hung over the entrance. During New Year, everyone play cards, Komawashi, Fukuwarai (picture on the left) and many games. Fukuwarai is a Japanese game which the player closes her eyes and try to put the different parts of the face in the right place.

T A N A B A T A F E S T I V A L

By Kana Shinohara, Mari Sakai, Rie Miyaro, Aihi Kojima, Chiho Yamamoto, Chika Aoki

July 7^th is the Tanabata festival. The Weaving girl and the Cowboy meet once in a year on this day. Everyone write their wishes on a card and hang it on the bamboo. The Weaving girl and the Cowboy will cross the Milky Way on this day. When the festival is finished, people float bamboo in the river. When it rains, the Weaving girl and the cowboy don't meet.

G I O N

By Sugiyoma, Akamatsu, Hirai, Ozono, Kusaba, Hirashima

Gion is a kind of festival. At different places, there are various festivals. During Gion festival, many people carry a wooden cart on the street. Many people pull the wooden cart. This picture is the wooden cart (mikoshi). People on the outside of the cart play drum. This is a Japanese tradition.