Sunny
winter greetings,
Today, we outlined a
menu for the 2002's New
Year's Day Party that we are hosting for the 'ohana (family).
It is tempting to leave the
party preparations to the last few days before New Year's, but this
can make it more of a chore than a celebration. And we intend
to have fun doing it.
A carefully thought out
New Year's Day party is one of the most important gifts we can offer
our family and friends here on the mainland.
We drove out to Marukai,
a gigantic warehouse-style store in the LA suburb of Gardena, to
case out the Japanese and Hawaiian foodstuffs to help us plan the menu.
When we got home, the
sun was at a perfect slant to illuminate these amazingly gorgeous
Iceland poppies into explosions of color, right outside our suburban
home. Click here
for an enlargement to get a fuller sense of the light playing on the
crinkled silk-looking, delicate petals.
The beauty
of these seemingly water-colored blooms of pink, apricot, tangerine, yellow, and
white flowers was breathtaking and yes, mouth-watering.
Enraptured, I pulled out the digital camera out of my bag and began snapping away, hoping to
preserve the memory of these blooms.
I love gardens, poppies,
and my new camera. I took all of this day's good fortune as a
positive sign to go all out for this party.
The New Year's Party is
the culmination of the holiday season. Of all the traditions, no other single event
embraces island and family customs so endearingly, so
completely for those of us from Hawai`i.
It is not just another meal; it's an event.
It's TRADITION.
In Hawai`i, the New Year's Party is even bigger than
Christmas. It is a joyous time when folks gather together to
"talk story," share island traditions including fireworks and contribute to a richly laden table with potluck dishes.
This is the one time of year
that no one worries or feels guilty about about portion size or
substituting lower-in-fat ingredients. We go all out to savor our
island past as it was meant to be.
Like many
Hawai'i expatriates, we want to make sure our island customs are kept
alive. For many of us, the
New Year's party embodies the most memorable of them.
We hope to pass some of
our island traditions on to the next generations, so they too, when
they are old and grey, may one day have wonderful memories as bright
as the poppies outside our window, now gracing this page as
well.
A Traditional Japanese Custom in Hawaii
"Life is a Gift."
With
anticipation,
Author
Unknown
P.S. If you would
like to share a portion of yourself with words, in response to
this journal entry, you may do it here.
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"The
only gift is a portion of thyself..."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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