Prior to the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese new year was celebrated the same day as the Chinese and Korean new year, which this year will be February 3. After the Restoration, the Japanese new year was celebrated January 1. Sunday, the Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens (4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach) is not quite splitting the difference. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Morikami will present delights both traditional (lion dancer! taiko drums! tea ceremony! rice cakes! calligraphy!) and distinctly modern (the bounce house!) and some delights that are somehow neither (beer, which is mostly a Dutch and German contribution to Japanese culture, but the Japanese have spent four centuries making their own). Admission's $5 to $10, with some events costing up to $5 extra. As always, the biggest draw to Morikami is the land itself -- the place's labyrinth of Japanese gardens, which constitute maybe the most restful and rejuvenating setting in all of SoFla. Visit morikami.org.
Sun., Jan. 8, 10 a.m., 2012