No "dondoya"

Our annual village "dondoya" festival was cancelled this year due to lack of interest. I can't believe it. Usually, after the New Year, the village gathers together around a bonfire made from 20-30 foot tall bamboo stalks that explode in a shower of sparks and smoke when ignited. As the fire burns down, a huge bed of hot embers becomes our cooking area. We roast the omochi that is left over from the holidays. We would wrap the patties in foil, attach the foil packets to long bamboo poles, and push them into the coals until the hard omochi becomes soft and gooey. The kids like to eat it wrapped in sheets of nori seaweed dipped in soy sauce. It signified the last social event of winter, before farmers once again got busy with early spring chores (early spring coming at the end of February). We celebrate our fire fighters (who attend the event with hoses ready just in case things get out of hand) and celebrate our community. It seems that the sales at the malls are a more enticing way to spend the day off.

I miss it. I thought about it as I looked at this big chunk of omochi in my fridge. There is something about microwaving that just isn't on par with the bonfire!