I thought I was going to be going down to the Futenma Shrine by myself. Ed made me laugh when he said it was too cold! But out of the blue Ty, Ryan, and Ed decided they wanted to go. The last time we went was Jan 2006 and Ed was in Iraq. Jorden and Vicki didn’t want to go again. The Futenma Shrine is right by the base we live on. We found a parking spot rather close and walked the rest of the way. There were all kinds of vendors along the road selling yummy food, well most looked yummy….and of course there are all the games to play to win a prize. We got in line with all the Okinawan’s to walk up the stairs to the Shrine. New Years is probably one of the most important of the MANY Japanese holidays. There are different lines depending on what you are going to purchase as well as another line to wash your hands out of a special fountain. There are ladles that you scoop water with and pour over your hands so you are clean when you pray at the Shrine. I love to watch the Okinawan’s when they pray at the Shrines. They clap their hands together once and then offer up a silent prayer. They also throw money into an area. The Okinawan’s celebrate New Year’s differently than Americans. They have their celebrations and all but it is also a reflection time to think back on the year and pray for the upcoming year. The Okinawan’s will go to various Shrines and offer up prayers as well as tie their prayers and fortunes to ropes that are set up all around the Shrines. You can purchase fortunes for 100 Yen. They even have a box of English fortunes for us non Japanese readers. You get to pick your fortune out of a box. It is called a written oracle. The Japanese word for these is omikuji. It will tell you what kind of year you will have, what to study, love, travel, business, wish, marriage, etc. You than take your fortune and fold it and tie it to the ropes to ensure it will come true. You can also purchase more elaborate tokens to tie to the ropes. There are also wood pieces you can purchase and write your own thoughts on than add those to the ropes as well. I like reading the ones in English. They usually say things like bring Daddy home safe, keep Okinawa safe, etc. I bought 4 fortunes, so we each got to pick out an “English” fortune from the box. Ty and Ryan’s both said they would have an excellent year, mine said pretty good, and Ed’s said fairly good. Ha! Ed and I decided to keep ours and the boys wanted to tie their fortunes to the rope. Both of their fortunes pretty much said they would have a very good year if they lived clean moral lives and made good choices than they would be happy and have a happy home. Under love, Ed’s said he should have a fresh start and mine said to love him faithfully. We thought that was funny as they kinda contradicted each other. The boys tied their papers to the rope along with all the others that were already tied. We bought a cool arrow with the 2009 wooden Bull. We had fun walking around and just watching everyone. Ryan loves corn on the cob and so we bought him a nice big one on a stick. Ty didn’t want anything and Ed had this funky ham and cheese thing. I saw the cutest little girl in a Kimono. I asked her Mom if I could take her picture and she gave me the sweetest little pose.
No comments:
Post a Comment