[Kathy S in Tokyo]

My children are bicultural and it has always been a challenge to let them experience some holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas in a way that seems meaningful to me. We've ended up creating some of our own traditions as traveling overseas to visit my parents for the holidays is basically impossible. I'm very glad to have a few U.S. friends here in the same boat who like to get together and celebrate together. Tomorrow we'll have a belated Thanksgiving and all of my children can celebrate with us (last year there were exams in school and they couldn't get away even for inlimited mashed potatoes and turkey, which is pretty exotic in Japan).

In order to justify celebrating all the U.S. holidays, I make sure that we celebrate the Japanese holidays too. I've been sharing some of the traditional dishes I cook for New Year's day with some of my elderly neighbors who don't have children or grandchildren but still want to enjoy some tradition. They don't seemed at all phased by accepting my sweet black beans, mashed sweet potato and chestnuts or tiny soy flavored candied dried fish from the tall, blue eyed brunette and I wonder if they think that Americans all celebrate New Year's with the same food.