nye

surge of artificial flame -
all this for a moment's time passing
somewhere, dogs barking

I am wondering why so much is invested in the the New Years Eve thing. No really, I am. Ever since I was a kid, and the midnight pot-banging intruded on my juvenile dreams, I have marveled at the sheer meaninglessness of it. It is, potentially at least, a chance to invest much meaning in our otherwise impoverished lives. But it misses and by such a margin of bread and circus as to be astonishing. It is the icing on the cake for late consumer capitalism, a thoroughly thought-free extravaganza that is certain to buzz for a little while, only to fizz disappointingly a minute or two later.

All the hokum about resolutions for the new year, the turning over of new leaves and so forth, all of this, the drinking to excess, the phoney bonhomie, the failure to connect - to really connect - is apparent in the fresh light of the new morning of the new year when truckloads of garbage wait to be collected, when bodies lie in disarray in the city centre.

In Japan, people go to temples and shrines on New Years Day to pray for happiness and good luck. Hatsumode is one of the most important rituals of the year. Likewise in many Asian countries where the desire for renewal and recommitment is grounded in specific, meaning-centred rituals and practises. Even the poor foreigner such as myself could not help but understand that something deeper was happening and that this was important in people's lives.

What do we have here? Lots of lovely fireworks and then the fade into nothingness. My friend Shu Yamaguchi posted these photos from her New Years Day visit to the Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine in Yawata-Shi. Such a contrast!