The Japanese festival of Hinamatsuri or Girl’s Day is almost here and I recently dug up this old photo I found. My wife used to make bento lunches for our daughter when she was a little girl and this one was themed for Girls Day. 🥰 Compare with the real doll display here: The traditionalContinue reading “Girls Day Bento”
Category Archives: Family
Setsubun: Then and Now
Every year since the kids were little, we celebrate a fun, Japanese folk holiday called Setsubun which traditionally comes the day before Spring (risshun 立春) in the old Japanese calendar. Now it usually falls on February 3rd, though this year unusually it was February 2nd due to a quirk in the old calendar. One ofContinue reading “Setsubun: Then and Now”
Happy Belated New Year!
Hello Readers! Although the first couple weeks of 2021 have been kind of lousy for us all, I wanted to take a moment to say “happy new year!” to you all. In Japanese, people greet one another the first time they meet after the new year with a special greeting. First, people say to oneContinue reading “Happy Belated New Year!”
Japanese Christmas Wrap-Up
Hi folks, The week between Christmas and New Years is always a whirlwind of events as we prepare for Japanese New Year (oshōgatsu お正月), kids birthdays and other things. I didn’t get to this as soon as I would like, but I finally had time to post photos from Christmas. We did not participate inContinue reading “Japanese Christmas Wrap-Up”
Happy Holidays!!
From my family to yours, happy holidays, live long and prosper, and Merry Christmas! 🖖🏼 P.S. For my fellow Buddhists out there, please enjoy the Maha Santa Claus sutra.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Of all the US holidays in the yearly calendar, Thanksgiving is one of my favorites. Sure, you get presents on Christmas, and who doesn’t love a good BBQ on the Fourth of July? But for me, Thanksgiving is extra special because it’s low-key and has a nice message of gratitude and goodwill (both very BuddhistContinue reading “Happy Thanksgiving!”
Talking to Kids about Buddhism and Death
A couple of months ago, my kindergarten-aged son, started crying one night because be didn’t want mommy and daddy to grow old and die. 😭 I am not sure why he suddenly thought of this, but I guess sooner or later all kids will eventually figure out mortality and how it affects loved ones. MyContinue reading “Talking to Kids about Buddhism and Death”
Summer Winding Down
Summer in 2020 came and went probably like no summer in recent memory. Ignoring the painful facts for a moment that there’s a global pandemic, politics are pretty bat-shit crazy, and the economic woes, and my stress level was through the roof, it was a quiet and low-key summer. Hunkering down for the summer hadContinue reading “Summer Winding Down”
Introducing My Teenage Daughter to the Klingon Language
My teenage daughter and I share a lot of hobbies like Marvel comics, Dungeons and Dragons, Star Wars and such, but she tends to draw the line at Star Trek, especially the original series. Not too long ago, I busted out my old Klingon Dictionary (yup, that Klingon Dictionary) and gave her a bit ofContinue reading “Introducing My Teenage Daughter to the Klingon Language”
Gardening for Fun and Fun
Amidst parenting, reading about Japanese Buddhist History, and transitioning jobs, I have had some time under lockdown to take up a new pursuit: vegetable gardening! My family and I have almost 0 gardening experience, and no real luck or understanding of how it works, but I’ve always longed to turn a small plot around ourContinue reading “Gardening for Fun and Fun”
