１１月２７日（月曜日）２０２３
１１月は師走の前の月で、あれ？何と言ったっけ...と「霜月」という呼び名を忘れてしまっていました。日本語の語彙がどんどん暮らしから消えています。
最近驚いたのは「ブラックフライデー」と言って大安売りを宣伝していたことです。これはメイフラワー号でアメリカに渡った清教徒たちが最初の収穫を神に感謝し１１月の第４木曜日を感謝祭として祝う年中行事があり、全米が大型連休でワクワクするのですが、感謝祭の翌日の金曜日に１年で一番大きなセールがあり、これを「Black Friday（ブラック・フライデー）」と呼び、早朝から大勢の人が買い物に殺到します。語源は諸説あるようですが、こんな縁もゆかりもない言葉が日本で使われ出したのです。
彦根にはこの時期「ゑびす講」という大売り出しがあって、昔、母が年末の買い物をするのに電車で彦根のゑびす講に行くのですが、私たち兄妹も連れていってもらったのが幼い私には大興奮でした。
少数派であることは承知の上で、論外の「ブラックフライデー」はさておき、「セール」よりも「大安売り」と言ってくれた方が断然、人情味があってカッコイイと思うのです。
定休日の午後、久しぶりに多賀大社の境内を歩いてみました。今年の紅葉も見納めかもしれません。
We have Japanese classic names of twelve months as well as modern names which are commonly used. Today I tried to recall the classic name of November but it didn't come to my head because I forgot it. It's Shimo-tsuki (lit. the month which frost falls). Many Japanese words have disappeared from our daily life even though they are not classic and new Katakana words which are used for foreign words have increased instead.
This fall, I often saw "Bulakku Furaidei" (Black Friday) in commercial advertisement for big sale. It comes from Black Friday in the US which is after Thanksgiving. I am disappointed that Japanese people use this kind of word which has no relation to Japanese people and culture. Most Japanese people don't know what it is.
In Japan we also have a big sale near the end of the year. When I was small, my mother used to go to Hikone to buy necessary things for the New Year and she took me and my brothers with her. It was a pleasant experience which I looked forward to every year when I was young. The name of the sale was "Ebisu-koo".
I know I am in the minority, but I definitely prefer to use "Oo yasuuri (big sale)" rather than "Sēru" or "Bulakku Furaidei" (Black Friday), because it gives a sense of human warmth and is cool.
I took a walk to Taga Taisha in the afternoon because the cafe was closed. The maple trees turned red and they were so beautiful. Since it is the end of November, I thought it might be the last look this year.
