How do you celebrate Christmas? In the U.S., that depends on where your ancestors came from. Many Americans decorate their Christmas trees early in December and have a turkey dinner on December 25, but my family was different. My grandmother came from Austria, so I grew up with Austrian traditions. We didn’t decorate the tree until December 24, and we had Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. My grandmother served roast goose instead of turkey for dinner. Before we started eating, we gathered around the piano and sang “Silent Night” in German. I don’t sing it anymore, but I can still remember the first words of the song in German. (109 words)

When I think of the end of the year in Japan, I think of the major cleanup that most people do at home and at work. It is called spring cleaning in English because people usually do it when the weather gets warmer in the spring. In Japan, people do it in December. This custom probably goes back to the Heian period when they had a special cleaning day called “Susubarai no Hi.” Yesterday, we cleaned one center at Fujimae Tidal Flat. There were 10 of us. I spent the morning washing the large windows that look out over the tidal flat. By the end of the day, the center was clean and ready for 2025. Then, we followed the cleanup with one of my favorite Japanese traditions, the year-end party. (131 words)

Do you know when the shortest day of year is? It is the day after tomorrow. The sun rises at 6:56 a.m. in Nagoya, and it sets at 4:44 p.m., so December 21 is 9 hours and 48 minutes long here. The day is shorter in the north of Japan. The sun comes up at 7:03 a.m. in Sapporo and sets at 4:03 p.m., so the day lasts 9 hours. If you live in Stockholm, Sweden, where the Nobel Prize ceremonies are held, December 21 is only 6 hours long, and if you go to the far north of Sweden, the sun never rises in December and January. (108 words)

Have you seen Santa Claus this year? He is everywhere. You can see him in many different places. For example, he was at a big department store in Nagoya last weekend, and they say that he will be back again next weekend. Actually, he was at my house yesterday with a big bag of presents, and he gave me one, but he told me not to open it until Christmas Day. When he left, he went to visit some children in my neighborhood. He had presents for them, too. I hope he comes to your house this winter and brings all the presents that you want! (106 words)

The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation has a “Kanji of the Year” contest, and people send in their choice of one character that shows the year’s trends. The kanji of 2024 is “kin,” which means “gold.” It can also be read as “kane,” which means “money.” Over 200,000 people sent in their choices, and more people chose “kin” than any other Chinese character. That’s because of the gold medal winners at the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics and the gold mines of Sado which have just become a world cultural heritage site. There was also a lot of news about money. People were bothered by money in politics, and everyone had to spend more money in 2024 because of inflation. (120 words)