- Japanese families do many things to celebrate the coming of the new year. Name one. Tell me about it.
- Who will you be spending your next New Years Holiday with?
- Are you looking forward to the New Year's holiday? Why?
- What do you remember most vividly and fondly from New Years (Oshougatsu) when you were a child?
- How is the New Years holiday different now compared to how it used to be when you were a child?
- What do you find the most irksome or annoying thing you have to do over the New Years holiday?
Question 1
My wife's family likes to eat osechi. I feel a little sorry for my mother-in-law as she is the one who has to cook it a few days before New Year comes. I think that she spends a long time doing it all by herself.Question 2
I will spend some of the New Years' holidays with my wife and her family. One of her brothers lives in Nara and the other lives near Yokohama, but they are coming to Nara as they do so every year to spend time with my in-laws.Question 3
I still find it hard to enjoy a cold Christmas and New Years', it is kind of miserable for me because it is summer in New Zealand during this time. Summer for me is a nice and active time of year. Winter is for staying indoors and it not enjoyable.Question 4
I remember fireworks and having a BBQ with my friends and neighbors at the beach. We would go climbing in the sand dunes, play cricket, and swim in the sea.Question 5
Japan is too cold during winter. I do not want to go outside to view the fireworks. I miss New Zealand around this time of year, especially my close friends.Question 6
For some reason, my wife always wants me to wash the outside part of the windows during the coldest time of year. I do not understand why it has be then when it is very cold outside, is it part of Japanese tradition? Or does she just enjoy me being cold outside?Tough Vocabulary
| - English - | - Japanese - |
|---|---|
| miserable | 悲惨な |
| sand dunes | 砂丘 |