“New” Kanji of the Year

Every December a kanji character is chosen in Japan that represents the year that coming to an end, and the character is written in traditional 習字 (calligraphy) by the head monk at a temple in Kyoto and presented in a ceremony to the public.

Last year (2008), the character 「変」 (“change“) was chosen. Click here to read my post from last year to see why that character was chosen.

It was decided that since the U.S. elected a historic new President, Japan elected a Prime Minister from a new party, and also because of the global epidemic of “Swine Flu” which is called 「新型インフルエンザ」 (“New Flu”) in Japan…that the kanji character for 2009 is 「新」, which means “new“.

The 2009 Kanji of the year is the character for "New"

Here’s a picture of the head monk writing the character 「新」 (“new”) in traditional Japanese calligraphy:

メリークリスマス

Today is X-mas.  So, “Merry Christmas“.

In Japan, people often eat Kentucky Fried Chicken for their X-mas dinner.
(Click here to see my post about it last year.)

Japanese 「ケンタッキーフライドチキン」 (Kentucky Fried Chicken) stores are very crowded on X-mas Eve and X-mas Day. And they have a special “X-mas Menu”:

(Besides Christmas, Japan also has another unique relationship with Kentucky Fried Chicken…the “Curse Of The Colonel“. Click here to read my post about it.)

Anyways, as I’ve mentioned before, X-mas isn’t even a legal holiday in Japan. But, New Years is Japan’s biggest holiday.

And of Japan’s numerous music TV shows, the one that airs on New Years Eve is the biggest.
It’s called 「紅白歌合戦」 (“Red and White Music Battle“).
It’s a four and a half hour music special and ends in a countdown at midnight on New Years Eve.

Artists who are invited to appear on this show are considered the hottest acts in Japan because of the importance of this show in an artist’s career in Japan.

A number of foreign artists have appeared on this show over the years. Namely, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, and Sarah Brightman, among others.

This year, the English singer Susan Boyle is scheduled to perform live on the show.