The Japanese National Honor Society (JNHS) hosted an Oshogatsu Festival on Friday, Dec. 11.

The event celebrated the Japanese New Year and offered a variety of activities, including an origami workshop, a cooking demonstration, and a Kahoot pertaining to Japanese culture.

“I did origami, and I found it really cool,” sophomore Grace Ko said. “I also enjoyed the Kahoot.”

This is the first time that JNHS has held the program online, making it look much different than it would have been in person. Normally, they would have in-person food stalls and have calligraphy performances. However, they have found ways to adjust to the new situation, and looked to the positive aspects of it.

“We were able to do the cooking demonstration, which we haven’t been able to do before,” event organizer and junior Alani Nii said. “We’re definitely nostalgic for an in-person event, but being online has opened up a lot of opportunities to us.”

The main goal of the event was not only to hold a celebration where others could participate in a fun festival, but to educate students about Japanese culture.

“We wanted people to appreciate Japanese culture and feel enthusiastic about learning about it,” event organizer and junior Aneri Shah said. “We always want to welcome new faces into the Japanese program.”

The festival opened unique opportunities for students to learn and participate in various activities, whether they were previously involved or not.

“I signed up because I had my Friday B block open, and I saw that there was an event happening. I thought it sounded cool,” Ko said. “I really enjoyed that, even though we were stuck in our own house, we got to test our knowledge and have fun. I definitely want to attend in the future and see how they do it in person.”