Osechi has the meaning of celebrating seasonal milestones and making offerings to the gods. Hokkaido is known as a region with distinctive Osechi, but the timing of when people start eating Osechi is also quite different. In this issue of "Osechi in Hokkaido," we will introduce how Hokkaido residents spend their year-end and New Year's food!

Osechi ryori is usually eaten on the morning of New Year's Eve. However, in Hokkaido, there is a custom to eat Osechi dishes on New Year's Eve. The reason for this is said to be because the custom of "Nenotori Zen" remains strong.

The "Toshitorizenshi" is a custom of the lunar calendar where, at the beginning of the year, people express their gratitude to the gods for the year and celebrate until dawn the next morning by eating the same food that was offered to the gods to welcome the new year's gods. In the lunar calendar, the beginning of the day was at sunset, and it is said that in Hokkaido, banquets called celebrations began on the night of the 31st.

On New Year's Eve, the dining table is filled with many typical Hokkaido delicacies such as osechi, sushi, crab, and hors d'oeuvres, and both adults and children enjoy spending time together.

After a big New Year's Eve party from New Year's Eve to the morning, New Year's Day is pretty quiet. It is common to have a breakfast of osechi (New Year's food) and a little luxury side dish with ozoni (a traditional Japanese stew).

The custom of nen-tori-zen tends to focus on the liveliness of New Year's Eve, but it is a set meal that includes a relaxed New Year's Day. In a sense, since New Year's Eve is a party, it is probably just as well to take it easy on New Year's Day. Of course, there is also a pattern of a big party from noon on New Year's Day....

The situation of Osechi in Hokkaido is different from that of Osechi eaten in a solemn atmosphere. There is a bit of a unique character to the cuisine. In this chapter, we will introduce the characteristics of Osechi eaten in much of Hokkaido.

■Namasu
The color of daikon radish and carrot is beautiful. The sweet and sour taste is addictive, and is a typical Osechi dish. In some areas of Hokkaido, hizu, a thinly sliced cartilage from the head of a fresh salmon, is used. Only a small amount of hizu can be obtained from a single salmon, and its crunchy texture is very addictive.

Sushi
Sushi is an easy and luxurious food at family and relative gatherings. I had a family gathering at my grandmother's house, and every year there was a big plate of colorful sushi along with Osechi dishes. One of the reasons why sushi is served in Hokkaido is because fresh fish is readily available. A characteristic of Hokkaido sushi is to prepare enough sushi to fill the whole family.

■Meshi Sushi
Rice sushi, made by marinating cabbage, shredded ginger, and fish in rice malt and fermenting it, is a local dish that becomes available around December. In coastal areas, many people pickle fish at home, and the taste varies slightly from household to household. There is also a wide variety of rice sushi itself, including sockeye salmon, grouper, hokke, herring, and saury.

■Matsumae pickles
Matsumae pickles are made with local ingredients and originated from the Matsumae domain. It is characterized by a soy sauce-based flavor with ingredients such as kelp, surumeika, and kazunoko (dried young sardines). Because it contains many auspicious foods such as kelp and kazunoko, it is one of the standard Osechi dishes in Hokkaido.

■Uma-ni
In Hokkaido, it is common to put umani in the third layer of the stacked boxes in the simmered food area. In Honshu, this is where o-nishime and chikuzen-ni are placed, but the ingredients themselves are almost the same. Umani is characterized by its slightly strong sweet and spicy flavor made with satou, soy sauce, mirin, and other ingredients. In some cases, Hokkaido's unique naruto and other ingredients are added to make umani look more festive.

Kuchidori
Kuchitori is a Japanese confectionery made by shaping white bean paste into a sea bream, shrimp or other auspicious shape, or assorting it with yokan (sweet bean jelly) and other ingredients. Generally, kuri-kinton, datemaki, kombumaki, etc. are also included in the kuchitori category, but in Hokkaido, sweet wagashi is called kuchitori. Kuchitori can be found at wagashi shops, supermarkets, and convenience stores near the end of the year, and is considered a snack to be eaten before opening Osechi (New Year's Eve). There are sweets made only with white bean paste, those with bean paste inside, and josekashi.

■Kombumaki
Kombu-maki in osechi in Hokkaido is usually cooked not only with kombu (kelp) but also with other ingredients inside. The ingredients rolled inside include herring, salmon, cod roe, and shishamo. Nowadays, kelp rolls wrapped with fish are also eaten throughout Japan, but it is only in Hokkaido that there are many varieties.

■Chawanmushi
Chawanmushi is often served as an accompaniment to Osechi, but the contents and taste are a little different in Hokkaido. For example, sweetened chestnuts are used instead of ginkgo nuts, and lily roots are used. Lily root used in chawanmushi is in season from December, and most of the lily root distributed throughout Japan comes from Hokkaido. Therefore, there are many opportunities to include it in chawanmushi. The chawanmushi itself is also characterized by its slightly sweet taste.

Ozoni" decorates the New Year's table along with Osechi dishes. Hokkaido's osechi dishes often reflect the local environment, but in the case of ozoni, the flavor and the rice cake used in the dish are completely different depending on the origin of the dish. For example, not only is it salty, soy-sauce, or miso-flavored, but there are also round, square, and red bean paste rice cakes, the varieties of which are too numerous to count.

Because immigrants came to Japan from all over the country during the Meiji era (1868-1912), ozoni from all over the country were gathered together, and even the houses next door had different flavors of ozoni. Furthermore, over time, ozoni have been updated. Today, ozoni based on their respective roots are eaten in every household.

It turns out that eating Osechi from New Year's Eve in Hokkaido is not a matter of opening Osechi in a flying start, but has its roots in the Nen-tori-zen of the lunar calendar. I am also deeply moved when I think of the many Osechi dishes born from Hokkaido's environment, which are a blend of cultures unique to each region. Let's celebrate the New Year with all our might starting on New Year's Eve this year, too!