日本が戦後のまだ貧しい時代に田舎で生まれて兄妹が５人いたこともあり、我が家には誰かの誕生日を祝うというおしゃれで華やかな習慣はなく、唯一母が「今日はあんたの誕生日やね」とそっと混ぜ寿司を作ってくれたことを覚えているぐらい。ですから、兄たちや親の誕生日を知ることも、お祝いをすることも我が家にはまったくありませんでした。
それが、時代もすっかり変わり、家庭を持ち子供が生まれる頃には家族はもちろん友人の誕生日を互いに祝うのは当たり前になりました。
ボストンで久しぶりに家族の誕生会をしました。といっても、大したことはしません。私がまぜ寿司と揚げ物を作り、昨日の残りのビーフシチュー、主人がケーキとアイスクリームをネットで注文して、娘が仕事帰りに買ってきたボストン名物のクラムチャウダーが食卓に並ぶだけ。それでも、面白かったのはケーキとアイスクリームの組み合わせ。日本ではあまりないと思います。つまりアメリカでは定番のデザートだったことです。
Having been born in the countryside during the postwar era when Japan was still poor, and one of five siblings, there was no tradition of celebrating birthdays in my family. I only remember that my mother made mixed sushi rice saying "it's your birthday, isn't it.". Therefore we never knew the date of the birthdays of my family members, nor did we celebrate them.
However, times have changed completely and by the time I had a family and child of my own, it became more natural to celebrate the birthdays of family members and friends.
We had a family birthday party in Boston for the first time in a long while, but it wasn't anything special. I made mixed sushi rice and deep fried-food, my husband ordered cake and ice cream online, and my daughter bought clam chowder on her way home from work which is well known as Boston style. We just put them on the table. Even so, the combination of cake and ice cream was interesting, because you don't see it very often in Japan. It is a very popular combination in the US.
