{"id":21436,"date":"2016-11-21T08:00:18","date_gmt":"2016-11-20T23:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=21436"},"modified":"2023-12-23T18:27:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-23T09:27:00","slug":"new-year-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/new-year-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"New Years Celebration in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"
New Years, known as Osh\u014dgatsu<\/em> (\u304a\u6b63\u6708), is possibly the biggest national holiday in Japan. For comparison, it’s similar to Christmas or Thanksgiving in Western cultures where families near and far gather together and feast. There are many deeply rooted traditions that come with welcoming the new year, and while specifics may vary from region to region, and family to family, below are some of the Japanese New Year traditions that are widely practiced.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The preparation begins days before the big gathering on January 1st. It begins with the decorations on December 29th or 30th because a one night decoration on the 31st, ichiyakazari <\/em>(\u4e00\u591c\u98fe\u308a), is said to be a bad sign of laziness or putting things off until the last minute. For these said decorations, there’s the pine, kadomatsu<\/em> (\u9580\u677e), to put up by the front entrance and an elaborate mochi, kagamimochi <\/em>(\u93e1\u3082\u3061) , in the living room. In my family’s tradition, many relatives begin to gather at my grandparents’ house on New Year’s Eve, \u014dmisoka<\/em> (\u5927\u6666\u65e5) . The eve is already the beginning for some feasting; we eat the year-crossing noodle, toshikoshi soba <\/em>(\u5e74\u8d8a\u3057\u305d\u3070), <\/em>which is simple and garnished with citrus yuzu. <\/em>Then to fix the sweet-tooth craving, there’s red bean soup, oshiruko <\/em>(\u304a\u6c41\u7c89), with mochi in it.<\/p>\n Some younger crowds choose to go out to party for the countdown, but there are also many alternative ways to enjoy the evening, both inside and outside of the house. New Years is in the dead of winter so of course, many choose to stay indoors. There are a few beloved TV shows on for the eve. The most traditional and famous one is NHK’s K\u014dhaku Utagassen <\/em>(\u7d05\u767d\u6b4c\u5408\u6226) which is the year-end song festival. For the show, Japan’s famous musicians of all decades and genre are grouped into red team for female groups and vocalists and white team for male groups and vocalists. Musicians perform and entertain all evening leading up to the new year, and then reveal one team as the winning team. Some other popular shows for the evening include stand-up comedy, owarai<\/em> (\u304a\u7b11\u3044) and Beethoven’s philharmonic symphony.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n There is also a colder, more spiritual way to spend the evening outside. Crowds of people gather at nearby temples to hear the joya no kane<\/em> (\u9664\u591c\u306e\u9418), the New Year’s Eve bell, ring more than a hundred times. The ringing signals the end of the previous year, and beginning of the new, with each ring representing the desires humans experience over a lifetime. Being at a temple or shrine at this time is also a chance for the earliest hours of hatsum\u014dde <\/em>(\u521d\u8a63). Hatsum\u014dde<\/em> marks the first visit to a shrine or temple for the new year. Many religious and spiritual sights are packed for the first three days of the year with people flocking to wish for the year’s good luck. If you’re in the Tokyo area, Meiji Jingu in Harajuku is the most trafficked hatsum\u014dde<\/em> spot with special Yamanote train platforms created just for this time of the year. Dare to go if you’re ready to experience a packed new year tradition…or if you’re one to avoid crowds (like myself), trot over to your neighborhood shrine or temple for a peaceful prayer.<\/p>\n No matter where you are when the clock strikes midnight, remember to say “Akemashite Omedetou!”<\/strong><\/em> Its literal translation means “congratulations for opening (the new year),” but of course, it means Happy New Year. The younger generation of Japanese folks also like to shorten the greeting to ake ome <\/em>(\u3042\u3051\u304a\u3081)! Either versions of the sayings are used to greet family and friends for the first dew days of the year. However, there is one circumstance in which saying Happy New Year to someone could be inappropriate; that is if they have had a death in the family during the year leading up to the new one. Many rarely will take offense if this rule is broken, but it’s still a good one to remember.<\/p>\nDecoration:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Countdown:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Shrine or Temple visit:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Greeting:<\/strong><\/h2>\n