In Japan, New Year's Day is a big holiday - a time for family to gather together and to start the new year off right. As a Japanese American, I still celebrate New Year's Day with a traditional Japanese New Year's meal with my relatives every year.

When I was little, I thought that New Year's Day celebration was that family gathering with some of those strange looking foods, some of which I really did not like too much. As I grow older, I appreciate such family traditions much more. It's not just about food, it's about celebrating culture and heritage. It's also about reliving memories of New Year's days gone by and creating new memories of the current day. And, it's about participating in the preparation so that we can pass on the tradition to the next generation.

Some of the foods we eat on New Year's day include: mochi, kuromame, kazunoko, tazukuri, and ozone soup. Mochi is pounded sweet rice that has been shaped into a round cookie shape form; it is also sometimes cut into rectangles. The Wikipedia entry for mochi shows a picture of two men, one pounding mochi in a traditional mortar. Although it was a long time ago, I've actually made mochi that way with my relatives! The fellow on the left side of the picture, who is holding the mallet, pounds on the rice in the mortar with a big swing while the fellow on the right side of the photo dips his hand in water (to reduce sticking to the rice!) and folds the working mochi over, in between the first fellow's swings. (The second fellow has to work fast or he will get into trouble!) It's quite a sight to see in person. Today, my family still makes mochi every year, but we now use a modern day machine. You can actually buy such a mochi maker machine at Amazon. I like to eat my mochi with kinako (toasted soy bean flour), which has been sweetened with sugar. You can also eat mochi with sugar and soy sauce, or by dropping small pieces of mochi into ozone soup. My mom has always told us that mochi has to be the first thing that we eat on New Year's Day, for good luck.

Kuromame - black beans boiled in syrup - are eaten for good health. Kazunoko is herring roe, but the eggs are not loose; it symbolizes procreation or a wish for fertility. Tazukuri, which is made with small sardines, symbolizes a good harvest. In addition to these dishes, we also have plenty of sushi, sashimi, teriyaki chicken and other goodies.

Every year, I think about making a cookbook full of pictures, traditional recipes and lots of family stories. New online services like Lulu and Blurb are making it simple for everyday people like you and me to create such types of books. Maybe 2007 will be the year that I actually complete the "cookbook" project!

Happy New Year to you and your family - may it start and be filled with lots of love, joy and plenty of "Kodak moments!"

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I guess you could say that I have been making Christmas ornaments since I was about 5 or 6 years old. Here is a fine example of one of my earlier works, which is still placed on the tree every year, even though Santa lost a leg somewhere along the way. It still brings a little chuckle and a warm smile every time I see it.

A few years ago, I started making Christmas ornaments with digital pictures. One of my favorite handmade ornaments is actually very simple and inexpensive to make. Here are the materials you will need:

• Blank paper-mache ornaments - available at a local craft store for less than $1
• Craft paints (I use paints that are marked "fade resistant")
• Paint brush
• Paint tray (e.g., paper plate)
• Small container to rinse your paintbrush in water
• Glue stick
• Scissors
• Pictures to place on the ornaments
• Clear glossy interior varnish (optional)

I usually pick close-ups of people's faces, figure out what size to print the image, and then print at home. You can purchase a small bottle of non-toxic, water-based varnish at a local craft store. If you are using an ink jet printer, note that some ink jet prints will bleed when they get wet. You should test for any bleeding by applying a coat of polyurethane on a test print.

Here are five easy steps for making your ornaments:

1. Match pictures to shapes. Decide which pictures you want to place on which ornament shapes.
2. Cut each picture to fit within its ornament. You can cut a star shape to mimic a star shaped ornament, cut a circle shape to place in the middle of any shape, round the corners of an image, etc. - be creative!
3. Paint the ornaments. I like to use deep colors. If a color is too light or you don't like the exact colors you purchased, you can mix colors until you have the shade you want. A little paint goes a long ways, but if you mix your own color, make sure you have enough to paint the whole ornament. I paint the whole ornament including both sides, let it dry, and then add gold paint to trim the edge and add a little glimmer. Let the ornaments air dry before proceeding to the next step. Your ornaments should now look like this:

1. Glue the pictures on the ornaments. You can glue one picture per ornament, or glue a different picture on each side of the ornament.
2. Paint a border around the pictures and then finish the ornaments with a coat of glossy varnish. Although this step is optional, it adds a nice finished look to your ornaments. Assuming you tested for any bleeding ahead of time, you can paint your whole ornament, including the picture, with the coat of varnish.

Once the ornaments have finished drying, you can hang them on your tree or give them away as gifts. What does your favorite handmade ornament look like? Add a link to it or describe it in the comments!

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