During this year’s ホリデーシーズン (horidē shīzun, holiday season), パーティ (pātī, parties) and 飲み会 (nomikai, drinking parties) are officially coming back. In the past four years, quiet おうちクリスマス (ouchi kurisumasu, at-home Christmases) became the mainstream, but now department stores and supermarkets are expecting a shift to a bigger portion of Christmas cakes and meals for those who are planning a ホームパーティ (hōmu pātī, home party).
Japan’s Christmas used to be a litmus paper that categorized people into two groups: リア充 (ria-jū, people living glamorous social lives), who typically have a romantic partner, and 非リア充 (hi-ria-jū, people living unglamorous lives), who need to deal with クリぼっち (kuribocchi, spending Christmas alone). But today this notion is gradually fading, partly because 個食 (koshoku, eating separately or alone) has become much more prevalent.
If you’re invited to a ホームパーティ, how can you get prepared? First, you may want to know that the katakana ポットラックパーティー (pottorakku pātī, potluck party) is often paraphrased as 持ち寄りパーティ (mochiyori pātī) in Japanese. Your party host might ask you, 持ち寄りにしようか？ (Mochiyori ni shiyō ka, Shall [we] bring [food] to share?) if it’s a casual gathering. 持ち寄り suggests an act of bringing something together, and it’s not necessarily limited to food. At work, for example, you can say, 案を皆で持ち寄って決めましょう (An o minna de mochiyotte kimemashō, Let’s bring everyone’s ideas and decide [on it]).
On a side note, the terms 持ち寄り and 持ち込み (mochikomi, bringing in) may sound similar but 持ち込み usually means bringing something into a store or restaurant. You might have heard the announcement on the train, 危険物の持ち込みは禁止です (kiken-butsu no mochikomi wa kinshi desu, it’s prohibited to bring in hazardous goods), and 持ち込み料 (mochikomi ryō, corkage fee) for any wine bottles you bring to a restaurant.
So what are the popular foods at 持ち寄りパーティ? Even if you’re not asked to bring anything in particular, you may want to err on the side of caution and bring something to be polite if it’s a home party. Whether it’s a クリパ (kuripa, Christmas party) or not, you may want to ask, 避けた方が良い食べ物はある？ (Saketa hō ga ii tabemono wa aru, Is there any food that I should avoid?) and 何か持って来てほしい物ある？ (Nanika motte-kite hoshii mono aru, is there anything you want me to bring?)
When I hosted a small potluck クリパ last year, my fellow mom friends brought a wide range of foods — from staple ローストチキン (rōsuto chikin, roasted chicken) to 細巻き寿司 (hosomaki-zushi, thin rolled sushi) to fresh 果物 (kudamono, fruits). To my surprise, everyone complimented the sushi, saying, 箸休めに丁度良い (Hashi-yasume ni chōdo ii, [It’s] just a perfect palate refresher) between the heavy dishes. The term 箸休め sounds like the word for 箸置き (hashi-oki, chopstick rest), but it originally indicates a bowl of soup or vinegared dish in the middle of a traditional Japanese course meal that is served between the main dishes.
What you may want to note is that 箸休め and 口直し (kuchi-naoshi, palate cleansers) are quite similar, but the term 口直し has a little negative connotation. It suggests drinking or eating a refresher after you down bitter medicine or other unpalatable things. Some think the negative nuance has disappeared somewhat these days, but it’s safe to avoid using 口直し after eating your friends’ home-cooked dishes. But if you’re the host and want to offer something after the meal, it’s OK to offer the dessert or tea with the phrase, お口直しにどうぞ (O-kuchi naoshi ni dōzo, Please have [this] to refresh your mouth).
Speaking of desserts, a relatively new slang term, 萌え断 (moe-dan, beautiful cross-section of food) may be spoken by the guests at any home party. With many avid Instagrammers, cakes and sandwiches are now expected to offer visual impact even after you cut into them, exposing the cross-section. If you buy a ストロベリーショートケーキ (sutoroberī shōto kēki, strawberry shortcake) that shows a gorgeous cross-section of strawberries, your friends may want to take seconds in order to take photos. You can proudly say, 萌え断でしょ？ (Moe-dan desho?, Isn’t the cross section beautiful [Instagrammable]?)
Throughout the party, you may hear variations on the term メリークリスマス (merī kurisumasu, merry Christmas). It can be shortened to メリクリ (merikuri), and ハッピーホリデー (happī horidē, happy holidays) is also becoming common.
If it’s the last gathering of the year and you won’t see everyone till next year, it’s good to part with 良いお年を (yoi o-toshi o, may you welcome a happy new year). This is a short form of 良いお年をお迎えください (yoi o-toshi o o-mukae kudasai), and you can say it until Dec. 30. On 大晦日 (ōmisoka, Dec. 31), you’re supposed to be ready to welcome a new year already, so people will opt for a simple 来年もよろしく (rainen mo yoroshiku, let’s keep in touch next year). May you have a wonderful クリスマス and ホリデーシーズン.
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