January

Japanese Season & Habit

New Year's Day is a very important event in Japan. I'll tell you something about the New Year in Japan.

At exactly 12 o'clock midnight on New Year's Eve, every temple bell throughout the country starts ringing out the old year and ringing in a the new year. We call these bell-gons "Joya-no-kane".

Soon after "Joya-no-kane" begins to ring. many pious people make their first visit to nearby shrines, which are calld "Hatsu-moude".

First we wash our hands with sacred water at the entrance of the shrine. Then we make an offering called "osaisen" by casting money into an offertory chest. We clap our hands twice and bow slightly to make a prayer.

The New Year festival lasts for a period of three days in Japan.

Throughout the country, all offices and markets are closed on these days, so that everybody can enjoy celebrating the holiday as well as having enough time to make plans for the coming year.

On New Year's Day we celebrate the day in the morning instead of the evening. Everybody is supposed to dress neatly for the New Year breakfast feast.

We start celebrating the day by having a drink of special spiced "sake" (rice wine), called "otoso" as a wish for good health for the year. We then eat "mochi" soup called "ozoni" and "osechi" dishes.

We usualy spend time reading "nengajo", New Year greeting cards, from friends and acquaintances. It takes us quite a long time to read all of the cards, since we receive many "nengajo" from friends.

January 15 is "Adult's Day" in Japan. All those who become 20 years old receive their rights to vote as citizens.

Each municipal government invites all young people who have become young adults in its jurisdiction to a ceremony and a party. The government also gives each of them a kind of gift in commemoration of the day.