Lucky year, lucky symbols!!

A happy new year, everybody! Thank you for being my good friend last year, and please keep in touch with me in this year as well!!

I am visiting Japan, now☆　On Christmas Eve, my hubby and I flew to Tokyo, Japan. (14hours in flight!) We went to Nagoya the day when we arrived at Tokyo(Christmas day☆.) The next day, we went to my parents-in-law's house in Mie prefecture.

My in-laws took me to a Japanese shrine to be purified. Why? Because we, Japanese have believed we have "unlucky years" three times in our lives. They are different depending on if you are a male or a female. If you are a man, your "unlucky years" are years when you are 25, 41, and 60, for a woman, 18, 32, and 36. On your "unlucky year," you are supposed to have "unlucky things," like having an accident, a disease, etc... So, we go to a Japanese Shinto shrine to purify ourselves and pray not to have unlucky incidents.
Also, the year before and the year after, we should be careful. Therefore, the best way is to be purified three years-in-a-row around your "unlucky year." This year, 2007, is one year after my unlucky year becauce I will be 19 years old... I am kidding... So, my parents-in-law took me to a Japanese shrine. My father in law (also around his "unlucky year,) and I had the purification from a Shinto minister.

The first picture is the Japanese shrine, and the second picture is a kind of information desk. Japanese shrines are always very crowded with people who want to pay homage after the new year comes. However, we went there at the end of the last year, so there were not so many people. People were preparing many varieties of food booths for the new year day☆　（Look at the third picture!!)

After that, my in-laws took my hubby and me to the famous place of pottery in Shiga prefecture. The kind of pottery is Shigaraki-yaki(信楽焼。） Around the area, there has been an abundant supply of good soil for pottery. Additionaly, Shiga is located near Kyoto and Nara where the tea ceremony has been popular. These advantages made Shigaraki City be active in producing many tea cups, tea pots, or other utensils and so on(The first picture in this section.) Nowadays, they make much interesting pottery!! Look at the second picture! What do you think they are? They are...humidifiers!! The third picture, there are Japanese lucky dolls ☆　　The forth picture, there are... many "frog" ornaments... Why frogs??
Actually, Shigaraki is famous for "raccoon" ornaments. I can explain why they have to be raccoons! Because they have been represented as a lucky charm for business. Also, when the Showa emperor (昭和天皇） visited the city in 1951, people welcomed him decorating many "raccoon" ornaments. At the lunch time, we had "raccoon" soba (buckweat noodle) which included fried Tofu and ginger in a bowl with "raccoon" cute painting☆
I bought "raccoon" chopstic rests (箸置き）becaue I learned "racoon" brings luck ♪　I am in the middle of "unlucky years," but fortunaterly, nothing unlucky have happened so far. Probably... the purification have worked well!??

I wish this year will be VERY lucky year for you!!!