Japanese New Year January 1st

In the past, just like New Year Chinese, Korean (seollal) and Vietnamese (têt), it was based on the Chinese calendar and was celebrated at the beginning of spring. Since 1873, Japan has operated on the Gregorian calendar system and January 1st has become the official New Year's Day in Japan.

Nowadays, Japanese people take a holiday from January 1st to 5th (sometimes even from December 27th or 28th for New Year's Eve preparations), and sometimes take advantage of this to go on trips abroad. Only January 1st is a public holiday, but government offices are closed from December 29th to January 3rd, as are many businesses. Some department stores and supermarkets are also closed on January 1st, but konbini remain open.

The Japanese like to start the day after the Japanese New Year with good resolutions. To do this, they practice a major cleaning called ōsōji (大掃除) in the last days of December, which serves as a purification rite for the house. The shōji paper is changed, damaged objects are replaced, and the tatami is aired. They must also have liquidated current affairs and settled their debts before starting ōmisoka, New Year's Eve on December 31. It is generally appropriate to be optimistic and in a good mood.

The door of the house is then decorated with a kadomatsu (門松) and a shimenawa (注連縄) or shimekazari (注連飾り). An offering is also placed in the tokonoma (床の間) of the house topped with a shimenawa: stacked rice cakes called kagami mochi (鏡餅), usually two in number plus a small bitter orange called daidai (橙).

The first dream of the year, had during the night of January 1st or 2nd, is called hatsuyume. It gives predictions for the coming year: Mount Fuji, a falcon or an eggplant are considered the best omens.

It is customary on January 1st, the Japanese New Year's Day, often at midnight following the ōmisoka, to go to the Shinto shrine, or Buddhist temple, for the hatsumōde (初詣), the first visit to the temple. There, toso (屠蘇), the first sake of the year, prepared with medicinal herbs, is drunk, supposed to guarantee good health for the year and served in lacquered cups. People also go to the temple to pray and to draw predictions (お神籤, omikuji) for the new year. During the night of December 31st, many Buddhist temples ring a bonshō, a bell, one hundred and eight times (for each sin in the Buddhist religious tradition). Japanese.

Special attention is also paid to the first sunrise of the year, the hatsuhinode (初日の出), which "symbolizes all the happy promises for the year to come."

Traditionally, people pay polite visits to family and friends, and give New Year's gifts to children, called otoshidama (お年玉), a custom that comes from China. During the month of December, when employees often receive bonuses, it is common to exchange gifts between colleagues, called o-seibo (お歳暮). Worth around 5,000 yen (around 30 euros), people most often offer food, alcohol or decorative items for the home. In the past, people also showed their gratitude to their master or lord.

It is also customary to place an image of the Takarabune, the Seven Deities of Happiness ship (originally from China but at the time there were eight deities), under children's pillows, so that they have sweet dreams.

New Year's greetings are also sent by postcard called nengajō (年賀状, lit. "New Year's greetings card"), which are sent so that they arrive on January 1st, or at least before the 7th, a practice that dates back to the Heian period. A Japanese family sends an average of 50 to 100 cards. To do this, there are pre-stamped postcards called nenga hagaki (年賀はがき), or web services that print and mail the cards. On New Year's Day, a special ceremony is held in the morning at each post office in Japan to deliver these cards.

Greetings are expressed by saying "yoi o-toshi o" (よいおとしを, lit. "happy new year") until December 31, "akemashite omedetō" (あけましておめでとう, lit. "congratulations on the dawn [of this new year]") from January 1.

It is more common to celebrate the end of the year and the Japanese New Year with friends or colleagues during evenings called respectively bōnenkai (忘年会) and shinnenkai (新年会).
On New Year's Eve, ōmisoka, we eat hot soup accompanied by soba called "kake" ("debts"), which symbolizes that we have paid all our debts for the year.

During the first days of the year, tradition dictates that nothing is done, even cooking. Mothers prepare meals in advance and store them in bentō boxes called jūbako, designed for this purpose. This cuisine is called osechi (御節料理, o-sechi-ryōri).

Zōni (雑煮), a broth traditionally eaten with unlacquered willow chopsticks, is also eaten with mochi, vegetables, and soy sauce or white miso. It is also customary to prepare mochi with the family and to consume amazake (sweet, low-alcohol sake). Due to the high viscosity of mochi, choking is common, and its rapid and abundant consumption causes several deaths each year.

In the past, pounded rice cakes were also made, which could be stored for several weeks. Even when they become very hard, they can be softened if grilled and are then eaten in soup with a little soy sauce, but this does not make for a gastronomically interesting dish. Nowadays, people buy them ready-made in stores, but you can still find homemade ones, especially in the countryside.