The Autumnal Equinox is a national holiday here in Japan. It is the middle day of the Buddhist week Higan. It is a week where Japanese Buddhists visit family graves. I am not a Buddhist, but my mother's birthday is in Higan. She passed away a number of years ago, so the 25th of September can be a little sad for me. Living in a different culture to your own, can be very exciting and fullfilling, but on days like this it can be hard. Mabon is all about gratitude and Higan is about gratitude for passed loved ones. So I wanted to show my thankfulness in some way. My friend Naomi had the idea that I should cook something in my Mother's honour. I thought this was a great idea and decided to cook something she often cooked, curry. I can cook different types of Indian and Thai curries, but I had never tried to make my Mother's very British style curry. Obviously I had eaten it many times, so I tried to recreate it. It was not perfect, but pretty close to the real thing. It has been over 15 years since I last tasted that curry, so the taste was so nostalgic. It opened a flood gate of memories, I felt very close to my Mother. I really believe that there is magick in homemade food, it can feed the soul as well as the body.
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