New Year Ornament

This wooden ornament expresses lion dance performed in New Year. When I was a child, a man of young men's association, wearing a mask of lion and costume in green, dropped in on us, performed lion dance to wish our good luck in new year.

The lion dance and its music scared me, so I didn' like it. But now this ornament in red and green reminds me of my old good days. At that time all of shops were closed for 3 days in New Year, so children used to roam th street to find a shop where we could buy something by a New Year's gift.

In this ornament, you can find something symboliz new year. HAGOITA... a racket and a shuttle used in Japanese traditional badminton. KAZARIMOCHI...a displayed rice cake. DARUMA...a round wooden good luck doll. KADOMATSU...gate decoration with pine branches.

This ornament was produced in a nursing home. Though the price is higher than that of made in China, to support that facility, I bought it. Well, first of all, I liked it so much. Every new year from now, this ornament will be decorated in the entrance of my house.