Rememberance
Yesterday was Chinese New Year and I was lucky enough to get red pockets :)
It felt like I had 3 New Years this year, since I had おせち料理 in January in Japan, then I had Chinese New Year and Chinese food yesterday, then I had Korean New Year's food today, cuz where I am working now is owned by Koreans.
Anyway, I experienced my first visit for お墓参り to a western and Chinese cemetary yesterday. I was so culture shocked because the way we visited was so different to how you would visit in Japan. First of all in Japan, you wash down the grave with water and clean it. Then you light up おせんこ, place flowers (made just for placing them on graves) and put your hands together and pray with those beady things between your palms. We also bring offerings of food and drinks, or whatever that person had liked. Yesterday, all we did was buy reallyb pretty flowers from a florist (even ones you could like give to someone on their birthday, not the ugly ones like Japan) and just placed the flowers in those things in the grave. We didn't pray or anything. Just kinda said hi and Happy New Year. Also, the size of the graves were enormous. I mean, the Chinese one were sizes of single beds or if you were buried as a couple, then a king sized bed. They were gigantic!! And people were just sitting on them and chatting!! That really shocked me the most. But all these were in a really nice open area, with enough space between each other in the nature, with trees and lots of flowers, whereas in Japan, each grave like just barely touches each other and are put in between like residential houses and stuff.
Also, the western ones have like a little message, whereas the Japanese ones just have their names written on it. You know, it would say like "In rememberance of a loved daughter, mother, grandmother and cherished friend" and stuff. That made me think how I wanted to be remembered as. I hope I get to be all that.
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I started working again today, even though it is just a part time job. It's good to be part of society again :) I love working. I'm just doing waitressing again, but oh my god, I love it so so much! It's so fun! I hadn't waitressed since like last November and it made me remember the times when I worked at Savannah (haha). That was so much fun!! Aaah, Savannah. Just typing that word in still makes me laugh. That was the most awful but most interesting place to work at. I even kind of miss it, you know. Anyway, I know I want to waitress a bit in Canada too, hope there are good shops!
It felt like I had 3 New Years this year, since I had おせち料理 in January in Japan, then I had Chinese New Year and Chinese food yesterday, then I had Korean New Year's food today, cuz where I am working now is owned by Koreans.
Anyway, I experienced my first visit for お墓参り to a western and Chinese cemetary yesterday. I was so culture shocked because the way we visited was so different to how you would visit in Japan. First of all in Japan, you wash down the grave with water and clean it. Then you light up おせんこ, place flowers (made just for placing them on graves) and put your hands together and pray with those beady things between your palms. We also bring offerings of food and drinks, or whatever that person had liked. Yesterday, all we did was buy reallyb pretty flowers from a florist (even ones you could like give to someone on their birthday, not the ugly ones like Japan) and just placed the flowers in those things in the grave. We didn't pray or anything. Just kinda said hi and Happy New Year. Also, the size of the graves were enormous. I mean, the Chinese one were sizes of single beds or if you were buried as a couple, then a king sized bed. They were gigantic!! And people were just sitting on them and chatting!! That really shocked me the most. But all these were in a really nice open area, with enough space between each other in the nature, with trees and lots of flowers, whereas in Japan, each grave like just barely touches each other and are put in between like residential houses and stuff.
Also, the western ones have like a little message, whereas the Japanese ones just have their names written on it. You know, it would say like "In rememberance of a loved daughter, mother, grandmother and cherished friend" and stuff. That made me think how I wanted to be remembered as. I hope I get to be all that.
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I started working again today, even though it is just a part time job. It's good to be part of society again :) I love working. I'm just doing waitressing again, but oh my god, I love it so so much! It's so fun! I hadn't waitressed since like last November and it made me remember the times when I worked at Savannah (haha). That was so much fun!! Aaah, Savannah. Just typing that word in still makes me laugh. That was the most awful but most interesting place to work at. I even kind of miss it, you know. Anyway, I know I want to waitress a bit in Canada too, hope there are good shops!


2 Comments:
At 4:09 AM,
Unknown said…
Happy new year Alisa:)
お墓参り in Australia sounds different from Taiwan too. We pray and burn おせんこ, but also paper money to the departed. But one of my grandpas was Christian, so it's pretty much like the West.
ちょっと早くない?(笑)Thinking already of how you want to be remembered. I'm not sure if I want to be remembered (^^;)
Anyway, congrats on your new job. Hope you get big tips:)
At 8:49 PM,
flutteringbutterfly85 said…
I got my first pay today!! And omg, I feel like I am back in high school with my first job or sth... Oh well, it's just a part time job :)
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