How to celebrate NEW YEAR in JAPAN
1.Kadomatsu (門松, “gate pine“) are traditional Japanese decorations made for the New Year. They are a type of yorishiro, or objects intended to welcome ancestral spirits or kami of the harvest.[1] Kadomatsu are usually placed in pairs in front of homes and buildings.
2.Shimekazari(しめ飾り) is a colorful and intricate decoration that is meant to bring luck and ward off evil spirits. It is hung above the house gate or front door and at the family altar to invite Toshigami to descend and visit.Originally, shimekazari was usually made of rice straw to wish for a good harvest.
3.Kagami mochi (鏡餅, “mirror rice cake”) is a traditional Japanese New Year decoration. It usually consists of two round mochi (rice cakes), the smaller placed atop the larger, and a daidai (a Japanese bitter orange) with an attached leaf on top. In addition, it may have a sheet of konbu and a skewer of dried persimmons under the mochi. It sits on a stand called a sanpō (三宝) over a sheet called a shihōbeni (四方紅), which is supposed to ward off fires from the house for the following years. Sheets of paper called gohei (御幣) folded into lightning shapes similar to those seen on sumo wrestler’s belts are also attached.
4.Ōmisoka (大晦日) or ōtsugomori (大晦) is a Japanese traditional celebration on the last day of the year. Traditionally, it was held on the final day of the 12th lunar month. With Japan’s switch to using the Gregorian calendar at the beginning of the Meiji era, it is now used on New Year’s Eve to celebrate the new year.
5.Hatsuhinode (初日の出)means “first sunrise” and it is awaited by many Japanese who, in the early morning of January 1, in the frost of winter, awaits the first sunrise of the New Year! To celebrate the arrival of the first sun, many places organize special events, temples and shrines offer soups or amazake (a drink made from fermented rice). On the very busy beaches, it was customary to light wood fires to warm up.
6.Hatsumōde (初詣, hatsumōde) is one of the major Japanese traditions of the new year, which is the first visit to a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine visit of the Japanese New Year. Typically taking place on the first, second, or third day of the year, it’s meant to bring a fresh start to the year. The kanji for hatsumōde is made up of two kanji: one for “first” and a Chinese kanji that has been adapted to mean “visiting a shrine or temple.”.
7.Kakizome (書き初め, literally “first writing”) is a Japanese term for the first calligraphy written at the beginning of a year, traditionally on January 2. Other terms include kissho (吉書), shihitsu (試筆) and hatsusuzuri (初硯).
8.Otoshidama (お年玉)is a monetary gift given to children by adult relatives. The money is presented in special envelopes called “pochi-bukuro,” the designs of which range from simple and elegant, to cute and whimsical. A popular motif is the zodiac animal of the year, or iconic symbols of Japan, such as maneki neko, or daruma. You can even find pochi-bukuro featuring modern-day popular characters.
9.Kagami biraki (鏡開き, lit. ’opening the mirror’; understood as “breaking of the mochi“) is a traditional Japanese ceremony where kagami mochi are broken open. It traditionally falls on January 11 (odd numbers are associated with being good luck in Japan). The term also refers to the opening of a cask of sake at a party or ceremony.
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