This is the year of the horse. Horses are strong, powerful, and fast, but sometimes they start too fast and run out of energy. This is a good year to do something new, but don’t try too hard and don’t go too fast. In western countries, most people don’t know about animal years, but many make New Year’s resolutions. Some people make a promise to themselves to go on a diet and lose weight. Others promise themselves to study harder. My resolution this year is to go to at least one birding event every month. What is your resolution? You can tell me in an email or upload your resolution to the Jaremaga Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube account. I’m looking forward to hearing from you!  (125 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

I want to wish all my readers and listeners a Merry Christmas. I hope that you have been good so that you can get a present from Santa today. Christmas is being celebrated now, but this is also the time for another important event: year-end cleaning. When the local TV meteorologists report good weather, they say that it’s a good day to do your year-end cleaning. You are supposed to clean the parts of your workplace or home that you don’t usually clean during the year. I try to do year-end cleaning every year, but I often forget. Yesterday, I saw a cleaning robot at a mall. I realized that I want a cleaning robot for Christmas!    (117 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

There are a lot of Christmas events around Japan, and in Nagoya, we have a German-style Christmas market. It is in an open-air plaza downtown. They have a tall Christmas tree in the middle, and it’s covered with lights and shiny decorations. As you can imagine, everybody crowds around the tree trying to take pictures. There are a lot of stalls selling different kinds of German-style food and drink such as sausages and beer. My wife and I went there on Monday to see our granddaughter who is working at one of the stalls. I got a plate of sausages and potatoes, but it was too cold to drink beer. I got hot wine instead. If you don’t drink alcohol, don’t worry! They have hot chocolate topped with whipped cream for you.   (132 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

We have just had the shortest day of the year in Japan. It was Sunday, December 21, and there were less than 10 hours of daylight in Nagoya. Of course, the length of the day depends on where you are. Wakkanai in Hokkaido had about 8 hours and 40 minutes of daylight, and Ishigakijima had 10 hours and 40 minutes of daylight. Have you ever wondered why this day isn’t the coldest day of the year? That’s because more than 70% of the earth is covered in water, and water takes longer to get cold than air. Usually, the coldest time of the year in Japan is the end of January.   (111 hours) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

I write a Christmas letter every year and send it to my friends and relatives. I used to only send Christmas cards, but I couldn’t write very much on the card, and my handwriting wasn’t very neat. I decided to start writing letters on my computer instead. If I write a letter, I can tell people about my family and the things that have happened to me during the year. I can also insert photos into the text. My problem is that I never finish the letter early enough. In fact, I only finished this year’s letter yesterday. As usual, my friends and family outside Japan won’t get the card until after the New Year. I can attach it to an email and send it faster, but I think that people really enjoy finding a card in their mailbox. I certainly do!   (142 words) You can send me a comment or your own