#113.Japanese winter food

こんにちは。 In episode #108, I introduced the practice of putting up a shime-kazari decoration at the end of the year before welcoming the Japanese New Year. So when do you remove the shime-kazari in January? And how long do you keep the Kagamimochi(鏡餅） on display? First of all, New Year's is an event to welcome the god of the year, Toshigami-sama(年神様）. The New Year is an event to welcome the Toshigami, the god of agriculture who is responsible for a good harvest. It is also said that the New Year's God comes to the house on New Year's Day to bring good luck for the year and sweep away bad luck. The New Year's ornaments（Sime-kazari) are used as landmarks to welcome the New Year's god into the house. It also serves as a substitute for the gods when they stay in the house. The kadomatsu(門松） and shime-zashiki（しめ飾り） can be left on display during the period known as the "inside of the pine tree". This is the time when the New Year's festivities begin. This is the period between the beginning of the New Year and the return of the gods. This period differs from region to region. In the Kanto, Tohoku, and Kyushu regions, the period lasts until January 7, and in the Kansai region, January 15. （In the Kanto, Tohoku and Kyushu regions, the period of time varies from region to region. Kagamimochi is usually displayed until January 11th, the day of Kagami-biraki（鏡開き）. On the day of Kagami-biraki, the rice cake is opened (pounded with a wooden hammer to break it open) and served with ozoni or soup stock. On Kagami-biraki day, the rice cakes are opened (by beating the cakes with a wooden hammer) and eaten as zoni or soup. Now, in today's episode, I'd like to introduce Japanese winter food. Here are some of the many winter foods of Japan.  鍋（Nabe, Hot pot) しゃぶしゃぶ(Shabu shabu) カニ鍋(Kani nabe, crab hot pot) ちゃんこ鍋(Chanko nabe) すき焼き（Suki Yaki, thin slices of beef, cooked with various vegetables in a table-top cast-iron pan） 石焼き芋(Ishi Yaki Imo, sweet potatoes baked in hot stones ズワイガニ(Zuwai Gani, snow crab ） Hot pot is the best thing to eat on a cold day! じゃあ、またね