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Goodbye 2008

by Julie Yang -- Being Savvy Honolulu

If this is your first New Year's Eve in Hawaii, you are in for a wild time.  Especially if you live in the heart if town in neighborhoods like Palolo, Kaimuki and Kalihi.  What makes it so special?

While the rest of America fires off fireworks on Independence Day, Hawaii loves the stuff on New Year's eve. It gets so bad that you may not be able to drive around some neighborhoods properly because of the fog like smoke.  Dogs and kids that scare easily might need some extra tending to.  Especially right around midnight when the noise and action roars to what could be a frightening crescendo for your child.  It's a night when our family sticks close to each other and we end up welcoming the new year's first morning in one bed. 

Fireworks on New Year's eve in the local culture comes from Chinese tradition to blast fireworks to scare bad spirits away.  You'll find a lot of the red paper that encased the little bits of explosive the next morning sopped in gutters or just flying around.  It is bad luck to sweep up the red paper left over so it takes a few weeks for it to disappear.

And then the next morning on New Year's Day, more traditions abound.  In my Korean family, we have a Korean feast with a Korean mochi in beef soup as the main dish.  I think thereâ¿¿s a similar mochi soup that my Japanese friends enjoy.  Then we stay in and play family games munching on fruit and snacks and more Korean food throughout the day.

If you want to get out and about, there will probably be similar establishments open tomorrow that were open on Christmas day.

Happy 2009!