Find Your Fortune

Around the world, people mark New Year’s in varied and fascinating ways.

Fireworks displays are popular in the United States. In Brazil, it’s considered good luck to jump over seven waves. Koreans mark the occasion by eating rice cake soup. In Japan, residents eat long noodles for longevity. They also participate in an ancient practice known as Omikuji.

Omikuji stands for “sacred lot.” Participants pay a small fee to receive strips of paper that predict their prospects in areas such as health, love, work and travel. In Japan and elsewhere, Omikuji predictions are received at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.

Fortune seekers follow these steps:

• First, they drop small coins into an offering box.
• Next, they shake the box, or cylinder, until a small stick falls through the cracks.
• Then, they match the number on the stick to a corresponding drawer.
• Finally, they receive the slip that contains their fortune.

The best fortune is called a Great Blessing and the worst fortune is called the Great Curse. 

For those who find themselves on the wrong end of the fortune scale, there’s still hope. They can fold the paper and tie it to a rack or pine tree on the religious grounds. By leaving it there, it’s believed that the bad luck waits and does not attach itself to the person.

Tens of millions of people pay to receive Omikuji fortunes annually. The fortunes are available year-round but activity peaks at New Years.

Here are some of the places you can find Omikuji in the Los Angeles area:

• Koyasan Buddhist Temple, 342 E. 1st St., Little Tokyo
• Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple, 503 E. 3rd St., Little Tokyo
• Nichiren Shoshu Myohoji Temple, 1401 N. Crescent Heights Blvd., West Hollywood