When I was a small child, even before I started really talking, I often drew things on paper with a pencil. Those could not really be called drawings but I wanted to draw any kind of shape. That was only a child’s drawing but I was so enthusiastic and happy that I could draw something on paper. Fortunately I always had enough pencils and paper so whenever something came to mind I could draw it, which made me very happy. I think in general I still like to express something. I have a feeling that expressing something is quite important to me and when I think back on those days I feel grateful for my parents that I always received pencils and paper.
In Japan now is the season of “Seijinshiki”. That is a ceremony of those young people reaching the age of 20. Their coming of age is celebrated and there are many offical parties. Those young people dress up with Kimonos, Hakama etc. and they celebrate there. It is a Japanese tradition. When I was that age, I did not attend such a ceremony. Previously in a blog post I had mentioned that I am a rather slow person and therefore I thought at that time that I was not fully grown up. I still feel like that so the decision back then seems to have been correct. However I will try my best at some point in my life to have my own “Seijinshiki”…
Personally I do not differentiate in terms of program according to the location of a concert. Of course the program and the concept should be suited to the occasion but that program can be performed in other venues as well. For each and every concert I want to give it my best.
Soon there will be New Year’s Eve. Now I am at home and I feel some tension like a tingling sensation in the cold calm. Slowly the excitement increases and exactly at midnight on New Year’s Eve the expression of joy of Viennese people will explode. In the cold winter’s night many thousands of rockets will explode and illuminate the sky. In the city centre so many people gather and those staying at home will offer a toast with their glasses. This is one typical expressions of New Year festivity in many countries. When I experienced this in Vienna for the first time, I was shocked. There was another Japanese living in the same building as I and she said that she had never experienced New Year’s Eve in the city and so she said “Let’s go there together”. There was a crowd of people and we were so excited together waiting for midnight. But when that time finally came, there was loud noise everywhere, rockets were flying and also between people there were explosions. Rockets are fired in the air but also many people just throw firecrackers at the feet of people. Since there are so many people it is impossible to leave. Because of loud explosions, my ears were almost deaf. Both of us decided to never do it again. Ever since that time,when I am in Vienna I celebrate New Year’s Eve calmly at home in warmth, listening to the explosions outside of my window.
In Japan on the other hand, people celebrate New Year’s Eve calmly and quietly. There is a religious background to this. At midnight, for the transition to the New Year, temple bells ring 108 times. In Buddhism it is taught that humans have 108 Bonnō (illusions, deceptions). Listening to the temple bells means contemplating and accepting our Bonnō, and thus having motivation for starting the New Year. This tradition should be preserved.
For a long time I have been living in Austria, more than half of my life. Sometimes I travel to Japan so I am in continuos contact with my home country. However because I am not living in Japan full time, sometimes the “Zeitgeist” or trendy things are often unknown to me. It is often quite interesting that when I do arrive in Japan, the experience is sometimes fresh and informative. Sadly, that is not only wonderful. One example of this is “Ippanjin (ordinary people)”. People who appear on TV, and are featured prominently on mass media are referred to as “famous” or are referred to by their professsion. All other people are referred to as “ippanjin (ordinary people)”. As an example, they report that actress A got married to an “Ippanjin(ordinary man)”. That is shocking to me because I can hardly imagine the media in Austria reporting in such a manner. Since when have those discriminations been used in Japan? I know that the description “ippan (ordinary)” as opposed to group is often used for example at the entrance of sights. That has been around for a long time but that I can understand. However I find the media’s expression of human beings as “Ippanjin(ordinary people)” shocking. It is also shocking how insensitive Japanese people are in the use of language and people do not even protest against that. Each and every human being is of the same value, no matter the occupation or even without one.
Today is Christmas Eve, which is a very important time for most Austrian people. The atmosphere is tranquil and serene. At midnight, many people attend masses in churches. It is very good, that there is such a day, which makes us think about love and peace. When I hear the song “Happy XMas (War is over)” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono I get the feeling that I want to wish for all the world to be filled with a feeling of peace.
Some days ago I wrote about finding sweets being sold as “Baumkuchen” from the Czech Republic. I also wrote about the time I had found a similar “Baumkuchen” close to Piatra Neamt in Romania, where they said it was a Hungarian speciality. Today at a different Christmas market in Vienna I found another stand selling Baumkuchen”. There is a writing saying that this type is called “Sekler Kuchen” from Siebenbürgen. Siebenbürgen is also called Transilvania and used to be part of Hungary but nowadays it is part of Romania. I remember that when I bought this “Baumkuchen” I was told that we were in fact very close to the border of Siebenbürgen/Transilvania.
When we talk about Siebenbürgen, I remember the operetta “Die Csardasfürstin” by Emmerich Kalmán. The role “Csardasfürstin” is a singer and when she makes her first appearance she sings about being a “Siebenbürger Mädel” (girl from Siebenbürgen). Csardas is a famous Hungarian Dance. The name of the role “Csardasfürstin” is Sylva Varescu. The ending -scu of family seems likely to be Romanian. I think that quite clearly shows the historical background of this region.
More than twenty years ago when I started living in Vienna, I attended German language class. In the same class there were some people calling themselves “Siebenbürger”. They said that nowadays Siebenbürgen is Romania but the people there are not Romanians. They were very proud of being from Siebenbürgen.
According to the writing on the stand, the so called “Baumkuchen” being sold in Vienna is actually “Sekler Kuchen”, which is being served at special events, weddings and religious festivities as welcome dish for guests. The shape of “Sekler Kuchen” looks like a horn and symbolizes the intelligence and wits of this people.
I do not know whether this “Baumkuchen” is actually Bohemian or Hungarian but since all those regions were part of the Austrian Empire there might have been cross-influences.
Austria is officially a Catholic country. That is why Christmas is very important. On the 24th of December almost all shops close around noon. It is quieting down and one can get a serene feeling. Christmas Eve is very important and celebrated. The 25th is Christmas Day and the 26th is “Stefanitag” and both days are public holidays with all shops closed. Therefore one should carefully buy groceries before those days. For these holidays I would like to have a special treat. In one of the bigger supermarkets I looked at the frozen foods section. In Japan there is an “Ice cake” for Christmas Eve, which is a whole cake made of ice cream decorated like a cake. As a child every year I ate this together with my family and I really loved it. In Austria there is no “Ice cake” but I wanted to buy something really good for Christmas and so I found the treat in the picture! It is a regular supermarket but in the frozen foods section there was “Mochi ice cream”! There is even “Daifuku” written on the package. For me this is obviously a copy of “Yukimi Daifuku”, which is ice cream covered with mochi. Mochi is soft and sticky rice dough. The combination with ice cream was a new thing when I was young and it became very popular. I never thought that I could just buy something like this in a regular supermarket in Austria. In order to try it I bought one pack of coconut taste and tasted it. The balls are much smaller than I thought and the package containing 6 pieces costs about 6 Euros which is a little expensive. As the package says, it really is a treat. Yes, it really tastes delicious. I also like the name “Little moons”, because in Japan it is said that in the moon there live rabbits making mochi. Other available flavours are Mango and Strawberry. I suppose Mango is yellow moon and Strawberry is blood moon. My own Christmas treat for this year is already chosen.
Today in Vienna the lowest temperature was 3 degrees Celcius and the highest temperature was 9 degrees. I am sure that it did not snow today. But why is there some snow at Christmas market in front of city hall? In the lower picture you can see that snow was brought from somewhere to decorate. The building in the picture is Burgtheater (National Theatre).
About 10 years ago, I started noticing that there was “Baumkuchen” being sold at Christmas markets in Vienna. Possibly it was a new thing back then. This “Baumkuchen” however is different from what I had known in Japan as Baumkuchen. Have a look at the pictures above. First dough is wrapped around a long cylinder, it is then baked and spices are added to the outside. What you see above is a slightly smaller version, I also know bigger size versions. If you eat it hot and fresh, it tastes heavenly. I really like eating it on a cold day like today. This stand sells it as “Trdelnik” and there is a sign saying it is a Czech speciality. The “Baumkuchen” which is famous in Japan is most likely, as the name suggests, from Germany.
About 7 years ago in Romania I saw this kind of Baumkuchen (like the one here in Vienna) and ate it there. I had a concert together with my husband in a city close to Piatra Neamt and afterwards the mayor took us together with our Romanian manager to a sightseeing spot with his private car. That is in the mountains and steep rocks were quite impressive. There was a lake called “Red Lake”, because there is iron in the rocks and that red colour comes out of them. It was December, very cold, and the lake was covered with ice. Close to the lake there were some souvenir stands. There I saw one stand which sold that kind of “Baumkuchen” made fresh. The mayor wanted to take away several Baumkuchen and we had to wait a little. The mayor said that he supposed this Baumkuchen came from Hungary. While we were waiting, a street dog came, sat in front of us and looked at us with a hot look. The sweet smell of freshly prepared Baumkuchen lingered in the air and it was not only tempting for me but also for this dog. The mayor received hot fresh Baukuchen wrapped in plastic and we had to go back to the car. I wanted to suggest giving a small piece to the dog but of course I could not say anything.
You must be logged in to post a comment.