New Year's Eve (II)

After 'Koh-haku Uta-Gassen' ends at 23:45, most of Japanese watch a TV program called 'Yuku-toshi Kuru-toshi', which means 'The going year and the coming year'.

In this program temples and shrines all over Japan are broadcast. People gather to temples and shrines around this time, not only on the screen but also near my parents' home. A lot of people like to welcome the new year in temples or shrines, although they don't seem to be very religious on the other days.

In temples, priests and prayers toll a bell. The bell is large and heavy and gives a solemn sound. People take time to toll it 108 times. Why 108? It comes from Buddhism. Buddhism teaches us that every human being has 108 problems in his/her mind. People believe that tolling a bell deletes them one by one.

Shrines are not from Buddhism but from Shinto. People visit them on the early morning of the New Year's Day to pray for such things as health, peace and even passing exams.

If you can't tell a temple from a shrine, I will show you how to distinguish them. If it has a 'torii'(holy gate shaped like an 'A'), then it is a shrine. If the priests have their heads shaved, then it is a temple. (Of course there are bald shrine men, though. Be careful!) If people clap their hands when praying, then it is a shrine. You are not to clap your hands in temples.

Oh, now it's time to go to my parents' home. They are waiting for my wife and me. I wish you a Happy New Year!