In Japan from January 1st to 3rd are days of New year and many people enjoy holidays having osechi(special food for New Year’s Day) and Japanese sake with their family and relatives in those days.
The table on New Year’s day at my parent’s home. You can see osechi packed in boxes called oju. 11 people gathered and celebrated the beginning of the new year 2018.
In Japan 15 days from January 1st are called “matsu-no-uchi” and we hold some events for those days.
Today, on January 7th, we make rice gruel with seven herbs called ” nanakusagayu”.
We have it wishing for good health.
In old days people looked for and picked them by theirselves. So they could not always get all kinds of them.
Today we can get packed one at supermarket.
7 herbs are Japanese parsely, shepard’s purse, jersey cudweed, common chickweed, henbit, turnip and Japanese white radish.
The custom of having rice gruel with 7 herbs have been from Edo era, and it originates in the seasonal event in Heian era.
Beneficial effect of 7 herbs helps gastrointesial health damged by overeating and overdrinking at a New Year party.
We believe that having rice gruel with 7 herbs on 7th January protects us from catching cold or other disease for a year.
