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:
Tokyo Five 
Yes he did. My little boy got more toys and clothes than he needed, but what the heck.
I did not personally get much, but don’t really expect much anymore.
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I don’t need any birthday or Xmas gifts anymore either.
My daughters are teenagers now so we give them money for birthdays and Xmas…then they can shop for what they like.
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Happy Christmas to you and your family T5.
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Thank you.
And you too!
Did Santa-san bring many gifts to your house this year?
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