New Year's Eve

We had unseasonably warm (61 F!) and very windy weather over the weekend. A couple feet of snow are gone. Studio got lots of dirts blown from the wall cracks. I bought a shop vac and wound up cleaning the whole wheel area. We do not want any brick chips contaminating the clay. It was very good timing. I have been feeling tomorrow not being the New Year's eve. Now I got that feeling a little. Japanese cerebrates the New Year more like the Christmas (or Thanksgiving) here, and there are some build-up going to the New Year, major house cleaning, making special New Years meals, decoration, writing and sending new years card,etc. New year's day is a sort of sacred thing than parting away. People line-up to climb Mt. Fuji to see the first sunrise, or visit to the shrines and temples at the midnight while listening the bells (108 times). It is more quiet experience like being inside the church. (maybe my example is not that good.)
It is sort of strange I have not been in Japan during New Year for nineteen years and have not done anything resembling to Japanese way of New Year, and still feel like this way. I was not particularly into New Year's thing when I was a kid, either.
Anyway, please eat noodles on the New Year's eve for your long and healthy life!