The new year brings a fresh start, symbolized in some cultures by the cherubic baby New Year who replaces the old year that has come to a close. In Japan, the roly-poly god Hotei, who is often identified with Santa Claus, ushers in the new year along with six other gods of good fortune; together, they form the Seven Lucky Gods, or shichi fukujin in Japanese.
As a scholar of East Asian religions who studies deities’ transformations over time, I often explain to my students that cross-cultural encounters produce new understandings and images of gods.
