The first couple of years after we were married it seemed like the New Year's holidays were the major times Tetsu and I would get into disagreements. I think I walked out on him one year and went to stay with a friend!
Tetsu is and always has been so busy and the New Year's holidays are the only days he has three consecutive days of holiday so as a new wife I expected him to spend some time with me. But what did we do? We sat around and watched TV. And dumb TV at that! Starting around 9:00 on New Year's Eve, Japan broadcasts nationally, a singing competition with the major singers of the year. Men's team versus women's team; red and white. When I first came to Japan the Japanese music world was filled with smokey drinking songs (Enka) and cutsie Barbie Doll songs (Aidoru which means "idol") and a lot of the singers went through crazy choreographed dances while they warbled. (And Enka can really warble! I remember my father saying it sounded like someone was strangling a cat!) The sets were always amazing but sometimes I got the feeling that the talent on stage didn't do the stage sets justice!I did not like this singing program at all (and still don't care for it much, and yes, it still is the main event every New Year's Eve for three hours) but Tetsu and his mother were glued to the TV. The next morning too the TV went on and we were treated to three days of slapjack comedy and comedians. If any of you know a second language you'll know that humor is the last thing to come when learning a language and these comedians drove me crazy and I felt very left out because Tetsu and his mother would slap the table and laugh uproariously! Or when the TV commercials got long they would nap. Or eat oranges and omochi. For three days. In those days Japan basically closed down for three days, no stores open, not a car on the roads. No where to go and nothing to do but watch TV. I was a raving lunatic by the end of the New Year's and Tetsu can testify to that!!!
"What is the traditional way to celebrate New Year's,Tetsu? Let's do that.""Well, they drink a lot of sake but I don't drink, and they go to the shrine at midnight but we're Christian, and they eat omochi. That's what we're doing. Mostly people just watch TV."
"There must be something else because Japan hasn't always had TV."
"The kids go outside and play with tops... Or they fly kites... You want to fly a kite when it is freezing outside? Or they play a sort of badminton with wooden mallets and a peg. It doesn't fly as well as regular badminton. I don't think you'd like it... People used to play a kind of card game matching ancient Japanese poems from memory but since you don't know the poems and can't read the Japanese..."So we watched TV and I was so glad when the holidays were over! I didn't quilt back then so I had nothing to do with all that time!
Nowadays Tetsu is still watching the TV but he prefers to watch K-1 (like boxing) on New Year's Eve which I despise so it is agreed I can go read a book early on in the evening. When Tetsu is home during the holidays, like yesterday, he still watches TV but I can appreciate the humor a bit more and I use the time to quilt. Yes! I was quilting yesterday! Over the years we've come to a good balance and he can see when I'm getting a bit irritated by the whole thing. The convenience stores are open, the regular stores open on Jan. 2 and so we can go shopping or eat out or do other things beside get cabin fever. And of course there's blogging! So Tetsu's watching TV right now while I am blogging. A very good solution this year!
That's my New Year's...
(pictures from the Internet)
9 comments:
Oh Tanya:
Don't know when you moved to Japan, but let me tell you it's really not that much different here, especially when we are at the age we are. When younger, we'd go out and Party the Town, now I find myself sometimes staying up late to watch the Ball drop in Time Square NY, bringing in the New Year. Now that is crazy, thousands of people outside in the freezing cold, looking like they are enjoying themselves as they shiver waiting for a lighted ball to fall. We stay home and I fear to report, watch TV! Rae Ann
Tanya, sometimes it's more convenient for us to focus only on the big picture. A few evenings out of all 365 don't mean too much. Sometimes I only roll my eyes and shrug my shoulders about things my husband does and I know he does the same about my behavior acquired by growing up in a different culture.
We're lucky in the UK, Christmas and New Year is a good time for watching television, as there's always lots of really good films on, or repeats of the best of the programmes, or christmas specials. Christopher and I have separate televisions so that we don't have to watch the same thing if we don't want to. Mind you, I prefer to read or sew much of the time. But we do play card games a lot which is fun.
Actually...a lot of similarities to the U.S. where a large portion of the population is glued to the TV watching football games on the 1st. And now they've spread the games out from Dec. 20 through Jan. 8!!!
Well, here on TV we could watch the glitter ball drop in Times Square at midnight and see the crowds go crazy on New Year's Eve (although at my age I take a pass on the "New Year's Rockin' Eve" tv program), and then the Rose Parade on New Year's day, so not that different. I think I would prefer to watch a rowdy crowd in New York city instead of either singing or boxing. (It's kind of a mix of both, actually.)
I had to laugh when you said that at New Year's you and Tetsu always would have arguments. While I was growing up, my parents had an annual New Year's Argument! I think it was because we kids were all off from school and they were too, as professors. So everybody just had too much of each other! Martha Stewart had a New Years Party for her cats--I saw it on her blog. Mine weren't invited though.
I sympathise, & I do SO understand how you felt!!
So glad you took up quilting and blogging to give you a bit of relief from the new year tv! Sounds horrid! but probably something the rest of my family would watch.
Happy New Year, Tanya :)
This is just too funny as my husband complained that I was glued to my computer screen and watched Kouhaku Uta Gassen on livestream while he was fiddling his thumbs. He should be used to it by now, but even after ten years of living with me and being married for eight, he is still puzzled why I would watch a Japanese TV programme only to squee and laugh at certain times, when one of my favourite bands or singers are on.
Strangely enough, the more Japanese I understand (I'm German btw, and although I can understand Japanese, I am only now learning how to read and write Hiragana etc.) the more I enjoy comedy/variety (and yes, the humour is sometimes beyond me, though I have noticed that Japanese and German humour are quite similar) and doramas. I think I have seen more doramas during the last year than followed any Western produced series/movies.
Post a Comment