Tuesday, January 09, 2018

How do you spend the night when all members of your family get together at home?

I told you about Japanese noodle we usually eat at the midnight before New Year.
And I also mentioned KOUHAKU, annual singing contest.

When I was a child, during the new year's vacation, my grandmother (my father's mother) used to came stay with us. And anyway she watched KOUHAKU on TV and waited for New Year. Probably my mother was cooking, my father watched with her, and we (it means including my two younger brothers) were allowed to watch TV if we could be awake and had finished homework.
Thinking back now, I'm not sure she was interested in watching KOUHAKU. However, it was her place in front of the TV at the night.

It is said KOUHAKU can share interests among family beyond the generation gap.
This year I really realized it.
Nowadays not so many people watch KOUKAHKU than 10 years ago.
However its viewing rates exceeded 32% this year, though until 10 years ago its viewing rate used to exceed 45% every year.

I was asked the other day "you didn't watch KOUHAKU, didn't you?" My answer was "yes". This answer made him surprised.

When my children were babies I didn't watch KOUHAKU. Because I fell asleep with my babies, and my husband used to play the guitar at count down live.
And we went to TOKYO to celebrate New Year early morning. At that time we spent our winter vacation in Tokyo.
Since my father-in-law passed away, our relative union has hold January second.
So my mother came to stay with us on the day before New Year.
It means KOUHAKU was the TV program we could share, and we didn't know how to spend the night together without KOUHAKU. KOUHAKU gave three of adults various topics, and when my daughters grew up, it was the same, KOUHAKU gave three of adults and two young girls various topics.

When my daughters left here, my mother used to come to stay with us. It was the same situation.

Unfortunately, my mother didn't come to stay with us. However either of my daughters or both of my daughters came to stay with us. And --- Yuki and I  watched KOUHAKU, while our daughters were watching another program in their room. However our daughter often came and check KOUHAKU. And usually all of us watched the last singer show and did count down together.

And -- M's husband joined us.
I knew he was not interested in it, and to tell the truth, my husband was also not interested in it.
What more interesting thing was that both of them were interested in another program.
However I was not interested in it.

So, all of four watched KOUHAKU (ah-chan fall asleep), while all of them were checking their smart phones.

 

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