When you first see someone in Japan after the clock has struck midnight on December 31st, you not only wish them a "Happy New Year, "but ask them to "accept" you for the coming year.
The few Christmas decorations we enjoy are quickly replaced by a sort of Shinto good luck charm that is placed on doors and entry ways. These are made from straw, green branches, paper and fruit. I wonder how many Japanese think about what they are doing. Is it just an absent minded custom? Or do they consider these man-made relics able to ward off evil and bring fortune and help for the coming year?
Oh, how the Evil One mocks and delights in the darkness we live in. But oh, how our Father God deeply loves and patiently waits to bring His Light to this land. He longs for each of the 127 million Japanese to come to know Him as the all-powerful, true God that protects and provides.
