New Year's with Grandma

By John Gathright

Leasing a mountain from a Japanese temple for our Miso Barrel Treehouse has its perks and pleasures. For one, we have the best of both worlds when it comes to winter holidays. We can have a very traditional Christian Christmas, with a Christmas tree, a Christmas turkey and presents, and we can also have an equally traditional Japanese New Year's.

The head priest, dressed in red with a white beard, would make a very jolly St. Nick. He has been known to forget himself and give small gifts to our boys. Though a faithful Buddhist, he is a very understanding, fun and loving person who lets us celebrate Christmas - as long as we stay within our house and are not visible to temple patrons. Not having Christmas lights or loud carols is a small price to pay for living in paradise.

This year was extra special because Grandma came to visit from Canada, and she's a jolly old elf. She brings fun and joy and the Christmas spirit, and her gifts never get old. She reads stories to the boys, shares family history, organizes a sing-along Fireside Fun Time, and encourages us to give Gifts From The Heart.

Gifts From The Heart can be little loving messages in small envelopes with promises of service, sacrifice and love. A gift for Mummy from the boys was the promise that they would speak to her in Japanese, which is what she has always wanted. A gift to Daddy was a message revealing the hours they took to do a much needed and much neglected bit of house repair. Grandma taught us that true gifts come from the heart. They don't need to cost money or come from the store. This certainly helped to deepen the meaning of Christmas for us.

Amid all the joy and the Christmas fun, our hearts were deeply saddened with the news of the tsunami and earthquake in Asia. Every day we became more concerned about the suffering of so many families.

Because we live on temple grounds, New Year's Day is a busy day for the Treehouse Family. We help with selling omikuji, temple charms and offering amazake. We greet the guests and do what temple chores we can. Our boys look forward to making new friends and eating mochi

Japanese New Year's at the temple was a new experience for Grandma. She managed to communicate with people through bows, smiles, and a few Japanese phrases, which she tended to use out of context. This made the Japanese people giggle, and that prompted more smiles and bows from Grandma.

The otoshidama tradition of giving cash to children is much anticipated and enjoyed by our boys. Grandma, who had never seen such a thing before, asked the boys what was in the tiny, colorful envelope that resembled the envelopes for her notes that came with the Gifts From The Heart. The boys looked a little bit embarrassed.

"Oh, Grandma, Japanese people don't give small presents for New Year's like we do for Christmas. It is not a Gift From The Heart, just plain old cash, but we really like it because we can buy anything we want."

Non-materialistic Grandma smiled and said, "Cold, hard cash in the right hands can become a Gift From The Heart!"

Our boys were a little baffled by this. But then they began to understand and became excited about turning their otoshidama into Gifts From The Heart and donating it to earthquake and tsunami victims. They danced with delight because they could help children so far away.

My family and I have learned a valuable lesson. Otoshidama is not money to squander on oneself, but an opportunity for children to learn how to use money wisely and kindly. Thanks to the Japanese New Year's tradition, our family has learned that cash, instead of being cold and hard, when put in the right hands becomes warm and soft.

Shukan ST: Jan. 14, 2005

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