As we approach the end of the year, join us for our culminating Brown Bag Luncheon. Yasuhiro Yamauchi, Consul Cultural/General Affairs at the Consulate General of Japan in Boston, will discuss how the Japanese send off one year and welcome the next.

In Japan, this is a season for reflection and hopeful envisioning of the year to come. It is a symbolic bridge. At the moment of crossing into the new year, temple bells in Japan are rung 108 times representing the 107 worldly desires plus once to symbolize forgetting about the previous year's worries. 

Many end of year customs in Japan have deep roots in Buddhism and Shintoism. Take this chance to learn about the cultural - and also spiritual - significance of end of year traditions for Japanese.