Japanese New Year

The Japanese New Year, called Shogatsu or Oshogatsu, is celebrated from January 1st to the 3rd. The Japanese view every year as its own seperate entity, so the New Year is a chance to start again fresh aside from being the most important holiday in Japan. The three days of new year are a time to spend with family.

Bonenkai parties are literally translated as "forget-the-year" parties, where people forget the old year, and welcome the new with an open mind. They take place before the New Year and are celebrated with company workers and friends, not family.

The day of New Years Eve is called Omisoka. There is much preparation for the new year- such as cleaning, cooking, and finishing all work of the previous year. All of this preparation is so people are ready to face the New Year fresh, cleansed, and with out worries. On this day people eat Toshikoshi-Soba, a bowl of noodles and broth that symbolize longevity, and listen for the 108 chimes of a temple nearby. The chimes are called Joya-No-Kane and are meant to release people from the 108 worldly sins as they ring in the New Year and ring out the old.

During the New Year entrances are decorated with twisted straw rope that contains good omens such as fern leaves and an orange. These are called Shimekazari. It is also common to give children Otoshidama, an allowance which many spend in toy shops.

It is also a great tradition to send greeting cards to friends and relatives as well as business partners and customers. This helps people get in touch with old acquaintances as well as the people closest to them.

"The shrines all over Japan are packed with people from the New Year's Day to January 3rd. People go to shrine to pray for safety, happiness and long lives of the family. A lot of people are dressed up with their Kimono and buy a good luck talisman called Omamori. It is kept as a protection from illness, accidents and disasters." - Japan Lifestyle.Com

Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu!