It’s a very popular custom in Japan for a family to gather together to eat a bowl of soba noodles at the midnight just before the old year changes into new.

The meal is called “Toshikoshi soba” that means “year closing noodles” in Japanese. Because Japanese noodles are thin and long, people eat noodles to wish for health and longevity.

On Okinawa people specifically eat Okinawa soba at the end of the year with some families making even their own Okinawa soba to be eaten at midnight.