Winter solstice or Tooji 冬至

The sun is coming back. Pleasant words to describe the winter solstice. Stores are stocked with yuzu and kabocha in preparation. It is the custom to bath with the whole yuzu fruit on this day. The fragrant citrus oil contained in the peel is believed to encourage good health. Kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) is eaten to ward off the winter cold. In recognition of the customs, we incorporated both into our day, but with a twist. We ate a favorite soup prepared with kabocha for dinner. I followed a recipe from a trusted and well used cookbook titled “From Aspargus to Zucchini”, substituting kabocha for winter squash. From the food blog of Mom in Madison I simmered a batch a Gluhwein, substituting yuzu for a portion of the citrus components of the recipe. During the early afternoon we played outside in the warm sun. We read “The Shortest Day” and our tree is lit to brighten the evening.

The author of the above poem is Soji. For more haiku poetry, follow this LINK.