Tuesday, December 04, 2012

December has come.

Finally December, which is the last month of the year, has come. I put some ornaments in my rooms to celebrate Christmas.
Last Sunday Utsunomiya International exchange organization held a festival which is "let's read picture books in the world". 6 people who are from Canada, Pakistan, Russia, Korea, China, and France, read their own countries' picture books to attendees. Most attendees were parents and kids who were from babies to 6 or 7 year old kids. More than 50 couples came. 
I assisted a Canadian lady. She read this book.
It really suited this event. In this book some things popular in Canada are introduced in turn, such as toque, loon , hockey sticks and so on. Do you have such a book? I think it might be good if we (my English Picture book club) could organize "Japan 1,2,3".

This time I found out about a Japanese cultural thing. I had thought  it was common or usual in the world.
Before I tell you what it is, I'll write another thing.

The other day my friend baked stollen. I know it is popular Christmas bread in Germany.


We are enjoying this stollen. We'll probably eat all up before Christmas.
Though the shape is different, in Canada thick fruit cake containing dried fruit covered with marzipan seems to be popular as a Christmas cake.
In Japan our popular cake is spongecake covered with fresh cream, and decorated with strawberries.
I didn't know that it is a "Japanese style". It seems to be a Japanese cultural thing.

2 comments:

Helen said...

I was really surprised when I came to Japan to see a Japanese Christmas Cake. It's okay, and now I quite like it, but for me, real Christmas cake is a heavy fruit cake!

Canadians have a few words that we use that other people don't have. Language changes all the time! When I went home I went for coffee with my friends and they ordered "a double-double". I had no idea what it meant-and I'm Canadian! It turns out that it means a double cream, double sugar coffee. At this famous Canadian coffee shop, they put the cream and sugar in for you....everyone orders "a double-double".

I don't know the book you read, but it sounds good!

Mieko said...

Thanks Helen. She is rignt, isn't it? "The" usual cake covered with fresh cream is a "Japanese Christmas cake". "a double-double" sounds like delicious.