お正月 (Oshougatsu) - New Year!

Submitted by Suzu on Sat, 01/07/2017 - 05:21

お正月! - Oshougatsu

New Year’s is one of the most important holidays for the Japanese. Besides getting a break from school or work, it’s a time for families to get together, relax, and eat lots of great food to get ready for the new year. Spending the New Year's in Japan? There are lots of traditions and customs regarding Oshougatsu, so here are some things you might see or want to do!

年賀状 - Nengajyou

It’s essentially like Christmas cards, but for New Years. It’s a postcard commonly decorated with the next year’s Chinese Zodiac animal, or a picture of your family, and it’s sent out to your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, and pretty much everybody you want to wish a happy New Year. You want them to receive it on the first or the second, so you should send them out a few days before New Years. 2017 is the year of the rooster, so you might get something like this:

Japanese New Years Nengajyou

大掃除 - oosouji

You have to start off the new year fresh. Which is why oosouji, or major cleaning, is a big part of the Japanese New Year. If you’re living in Japan, your school or your job may even require you to participate in the cleaning, which is usually done before New Year. As cleaning may be an annoying chore, it’s a time for you and your family to come together and clean away the year. Plus, it gives you an incentive to actually clean, if you usually don’t.

年越し蕎麦 - toshikoshi soba

The night of December 31st, most people eat soba noodles for dinner. Toshikoshi translates to “moving on to the new year”, and it’s eaten to wish those a long, healthy life, just like soba noodles.

Japanese New Years toshikoshi soba

除夜の鐘 - jyoya no kane

Right before 12 o’clock on New Year’s, temples and shrines across Japan start to ring the bell, seen below, 108 times. There are several theories why it’s 108, but it’s most commonly known that there are 108 human “wants” or “desires”, and those 108 bell rings helps us humans “cleanse” for the new upcoming year. The “dong” you hear is very calming, and it’s a serene way to start the year.

Japanese New Years jyoya no kane

初詣 - hatsumoude

As the bells ring at midnight, people often go to their local temples and shrines to pray. This tradition, known as hatsumoude, translates to first pray as it is your first visit of the year. Praying customs differ slightly between temples and shrines, but generally, you walk up to the temple/shrine, bow, throw in five yen (5円, goen, which can also mean ご縁, or good fate) into the box, shake the rope to ring the bell, clap twice, and put your hands together to pray.

Japanese New Years Hatsumoude

お年玉 - otoshidama

It’s great to be a kid during oshougatsu, because you get your otoshidama. This is a tradition where older people give the young money, usually wrapped in a cute little envelope. This was definitely one of my favorite tradition during New Year’s! Also, when you work in Japan, the company may give out otoshidama as well!

Japanese New Years otoshidama

御節 - Osechi

Osechi is the gourmet food you eat during New Year’s. It’s usually served inside a stacked box, kind of like a very fancy bento box. They sell these bento boxes everywhere before the new year from convenient stores to high-end department stores. The idea is you don't want to do anything the first three days of the year, which includes cooking. So you buy 3 days worth of meals.

Japanese New Years osechi pre-prepared

It’s packed with different kinds of delicious foods. Some of the most common foods inside include:

かまぼこ(Kamaboko): fishcakes/

Japanese New Years Kamaboko fish cakes

栗金団(Kurikinton): sweet potatoes and chestnuts

Japanese New Years Kurikinton sweet potatoes and chestnuts

伊達巻卵(Datemaki Tamago): omelette with ground fish paste

Japanese New Years Datemaki Tamago omlette

いくら(Ikura): salmon roe

Japanese New Years Ikura salmon roe

黒豆(Kuromame): sweet black beans

Japanese New Years Kuromame sweet black beans

煮物(Nimono): simmered vegetables

Japanese New Years Nimono simmered veggies

お雑煮(Ozouni): Soup with mochi

Japanese New Years Ozouni mochi soup

Overall, New Year’s is a great time in Japan with great vibes. I hope everybody has a great holiday season, and a happy New Year!

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