The Story of Japanese New Year
Since 1873 when Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar, Japanese New Year or
Oshogatsu is celebrated on January 1. The celebration lasts three days. Prior to 1873,
the start of the New Year depended on the cycle of the moon.
New Year's Day is a national holiday in Japan and one of the largest events on the
calendar of annual festivities. Oshogatsu (the first three days of the year) is celebrated
nationwide. Schools close for approximately two weeks of winter holiday before and
after New Year's. Most companies close for the New Year break from around
December 30 to January 3.
The final day of the year, December 31, is called omisoka (New Year’s Eve). In order to
usher in the New Year feeling fresh, families clean their houses and make preparations
for the New Year holidays by omisoka. Some believe that the gods visit the house on
New Year's Day, so the house must be thoroughly cleaned. It is also customary to pay
off all debts and settle all disputes before the start of the year in order to begin the New
Year with a clean slate.
Many college students and working people who have moved to the big
cities return to their hometowns to spend the New Year with their families,
friends, and relatives. On New Year's Eve, many families gather around the
TV set to watch special omisoka programs and eat toshi-koshi-soba ("yearcrossing" buckwheat noodles) in the hope that their lives will be stretched out
as long as those noodles. New Year's Eve is the one day of the year when children are
not scolded for staying up late.
As midnight approaches, Buddhist temples
around the country begin ringing out the old
year, sounding the temple bell 108 times. This
practice is based on a belief that humans
have 108 earthly passions they have to
overcome in order to attain enlightenment.
Each ring is thought to drive away one such
passion. Reverberations from each bell toll
must completely die down before the next
strike is made. It takes about an hour to
complete the 108 strokes. The tolling of the
bell at some of the nation's most famous temples is
broadcast live on television and radio. Many people welcome the New Year by listening
to the calming sounds of these bells.
The breaking of dawn the next morning is
much more than just the beginning of a new
day. The New Year's Holiday is not a religious
holiday. However, people, regardless of their
religious affiliation, flock to temples and shrines
to pray for a healthy and prosperous year. This
is called hatsu-mode and is one of the most
important rituals of the year. When they greet
their acquaintances, they say "Akemashite
omedeto gozaimasu" (a happy new year) to
convey wishes that the year to come will be full
of hope and good health. Trains and buses that normally stop running late at night
operate on a 24-hour basis between omisoka and New Year's Day. Today, a visit made
by January 7 is considered part of hatsu-mode.
Special meals called osechi ryori, prepared at the end
of the year before, are eaten on January 1-3. They
consist of traditional dishes like boiled beans, broiled
fish, and su-no-mono (sliced vegetables and seafood
dressed with sweet vinegar). The meals are
served in a nest of boxes, which are used
because they can easily be preserved by
stacking, freeing people from the need to do any
cooking over the holidays.
For the Japanese, New Year's Day is a time to start
anew. People don new clothing and wish each other
"Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu," Happy New
Year! They use three graduated cup sizes of sake (rice
wine) to share their best wishes. Otoso, the sake that is
prepared with cinnamon and other spices is usually
consumed after it is warmed. The cups symbolize heaven,
earth, and people. Each member of the family takes three
sips from each of the cups. Mochi, sweet rice, is also
commonly consumed on New Year's Day. It is sprinkled
with a mixture of sugar, salt and kinako (soybean flour), filled with
sweet black beans, or served in a special soup called Ozoni.
Until a few decades ago, children spent New Year's Day engaged in such traditional
pastimes, as flying kites, koma (spinning tops), and playing iroha karuta (a traditional
Japanese card game). They also engaged in hanetsuki (a type of badminton played
with wooden paddles and shuttlecocks), fuku warai (a contest where blindfolded players
take turn arranging parts of a face), and sugoroku (Japanese variety of Parcheesi.)
Nowadays, these traditional pastimes are not as prevalent. On the morning of the New
Year, children look forward to reading nengajo (New Year greeting cards) from friends
and acquaintances, but, their favorite treat is receiving otoshidama (money given as a
gift at the beginning of a year) from parents, relatives, and other adults they meet during
New Year.
Although not as popular as in previous times, the custom of visiting relatives, neighbors,
and those who bestowed kindness over the preceding year during the first few days of
the new year is still observed. After the post office began issuing postcards in the Meiji
period (1868-1912), people began sending these cards as a form of greeting. The
tradition of sending special postcards (nengajo) has become very popular. These
postcards are delivered on New Year's Day. People usually begin to prepare those
cards at the end of November or at the beginning of December.
The post office initiated a service where it delivers the nengajo on
January 1, if they were posted by a certain date in December.
Postcards carrying lottery numbers went on sale in 1949, with the
holders of winning numbers receiving prizes. As a result, the
popularity of nengajo increased immensely and the practice of
sending postcards took root. Today the post office prints up more
than 4 billion prize-carrying New Year's cards every year.
In addition to inscribing standard phrases like Akemashite
omedeto gozaimasu (Happy New Year) on the nengajo cards,
people often write about their lives and their New Year
resolutions. They also decorate the cards with color markers, oil
or acrylic paint, black ink, montages of colored paper, paper cutouts, or woodblock
prints. Recently, people have been creating original cards on their personal computers.
Symbols of Japanese New Year
One of the symbols used in the homes of the Japanese is the kadomatsu, an
arrangement of pine and bamboo. It is suppose to chase away evil spirits and
bring blessings to the home. Another symbol is rope which is either stretched
across the doorway (shimenawa) to keep the homes purified, or encircled
(wanawa) and placed at the front entrance of the home or at a sacred
location, such as their family altar.
Kagami mochi is another symbol used to bring good fortune. A large mochi
is placed on a piece of white paper with a smaller mochi placed on the large
one resembling a mirrored image. A mandarin orange is usually placed at
the very top, creating a three tiered display. The kagami mochi, like the
other symbols, is used with the hope that the New Year will be happier and
luckier than the year before.
Popular graphic elements include New Year motifs, such as kadomatsu, kites, plum
flowers, and the sun rising against Mount Fuji on New Year's Day. Even more popular
are illustrations of the animal for the coming year under the Chinese zodiac, which
moves in a 12-year cycle. The Chinese zodiac is not referred to that often in Japan
anymore, but it is still a popular item on New Year's cards.
Sources:
Floating Lanterns and Golden Shrines, Celebrating Japanese Festivals by Rena
Krasnodar Illustrated by Toru Sugita
Matsuri: Festival Japanese American Celebrations and Activities by Nancy K. Araki and
Jane M. Horii
Japanese Celebrations Cherry Blossoms, Lanterns and Stars! By Betty Reynolds
Wikipedia
“Kids Web Japan – Calendar”
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/calendar/december.html
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/calendar/january.html