Celebrate!!

Recently, all of the 5th graders in school are doing a World Celebrations Report. We had a choice between; St. Lucia Day, Kwanzaa, Japanese New Year, Christmas, Hanukkah or Ramadan. I am in the Japanese New Year group. We are to be graded on 4 main things: Geographic information, food, customs and history. I'm in charge of history, which is finding out when the Japanese started the celebration, and if they've changed over the years. I learned that the Japanese started the Japanese New Year many centuries ago, and that one of the only things that have changed, is that when they first started they would exchange gifts (like rice cakes), now-a-days, children get money from close relatives. Some people go home for the holiday and pray at the temples.