Japanese New Year
あけましておめでとうございます！ことしもよろしくお願いします！
Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu! Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu!
Happy New Year! I hope we will have a good relationship again this year!
The New Year’s Holiday is probably one of the biggest and most important holidays in Japan. While Christmas is popular – it isn’t a national holiday. Christmas here is for lovers, friends, and children. Gorgeous decorations, holiday jingles, and lots of shopping. Christmas Eve is like another Valentines Day – all the nice restaurants booked solid by couples.
The real holiday begins December 30th when virtually everyone in Japan goes on vacation – most shops/restaurants have abbreviated hours or are closed until the end of Shougatsu (New Year), January 3rd. This is the time for family – most try to make it to their parent’s home to eat the traditional New Year foods (osechi), pay respects to deceased immediate family members (visiting and cleaning graves), and pray at the local shrine (hatsumoude) for good health and happiness in the coming year. The shrines are at their most lively during this time – surrounding streets are sometimes closed to traffic and populated by vendor booths with games for prizes and foods for sale. In the few days leading to the first the home should be cleaned thoroughly and osechi ryouri prepared (though many purchase it from department stores/restaurants now – paying an average of 20,000yen or $200) so that you can relax and not have to cook for the next few days. Children not yet graduated from High School receive money (otoshidama) in a small envelope made specifically for that purpose. Younger children usually get a few thousand yen ($20-$30) which is collected by their parents to be put into savings or used to buy something for the child but by the time they are a teenager the can expect to receive about 5,000-10,000yen or $50-$100 from all immediate adult family members and spend it how they like!
