In Japan the New Year is called shōgatsu (正月) or oshōgatsu (お正月) and it is
considered the most important holiday in Japan. The first character (正) has the Japanese kun reading of tadashii, masa, or tadasu with a meaning of ‘principal,’ ‘primary,’
‘chief,’ or ‘main;’ and, the Japanese ON
pronunciation is shō (正, 2015) . The second character (月) has many Japanese kun reading of tsuki or tsuku with a meaning
of ‘month’ or ‘moon;’ and, the Japanese ON
pronunciation is gachi, gatsu, or getsu (月, 2015) . Therefore, translated literally, shōgatsu
means ‘principal month’ (正月, 2015) . The ‘o’
(お) in oshōgatsu is an
honorific prefix that is used to make a word polite.
There are many New Year’s traditions that are celebrated
throughout Japan. Some of the more
popular traditions are hatsumōde,
kado-matsu, osechi-ryōri, nengajo, otoshidama, and bōnenkai. Hatsumōde (初詣) is the tradition of making
a pilgrimage to a local Shinto or Buddhist shrine (初詣, 2015) and is the modern
evolution of the Edo era folk tradition of Eho-mairi (Bocking, 2014) . Kado-matsu
(門松)
which literally means ‘gate pine’ (門松, 2015) , is the practice of decorating
the front of homes after Christmas until January 7th to welcome
ancestral kami or ‘spirits’ or the kami
of the harvest (Hugo, 2012) . These decorations are typically made from
pine, bamboo, or plum trees. Osechi-ryōri (御節料理) is a special dish
that is eaten during the New Year celebration. “This consists of boiled seaweed (昆布 konbu), fish cakes (蒲鉾 kamaboko), mashed sweet potato with chestnut (栗きんとん kurikinton), simmered burdock root (金平牛蒡 kinpira gobō), and sweetened black soybeans (黒豆 kuromame)” (Hugo, 2012) . Nengajo
(年賀状) which literally means ‘New Year’s card (年賀状, 2015) is the custom of
sending postcards to family and friends to wish them a happy New Year which is similar
to the Western practice of sending Christmas cards. Some common nengajō greetings include:
- kotoshi mo yoroshiku o-negai-shimasu (今年もよろしくお願いします) (I hope for your favor again in the coming year)
- (shinnen) akemashite o-medetō-gozaimasu ((新年)あけましておめでとうございます) (Happiness to you on the dawn [of a New Year])
- kinga shinnen (謹賀新年) (Happy New Year)
- gashō (賀正) (to celebrate January)
- shoshun/hatsuharu (初春) (literally "early spring", in the traditional lunar calendar a year begins in early spring)
- geishun (迎春) (to welcome spring)
Otoshidama (おとしだま) is the tradition of giving children a small
monetary gift. And, bōnenkai (忘年会)
which means ‘year-end party’ (忘年会, 2015) or ‘year forgetting
party’ is a tradition where the goal is to forget the old year. This is because
“years are traditionally viewed as completely separate, with each new year
providing a fresh start. Consequently, all duties are supposed to be completed
by the end of the year” (New Year, 2008) .
Probably the
most visible tradition occurs at midnight on December 31st and is
called joya no kane (除夜の鐘). This phrase is composed of joya (除夜) which means ‘New Year’s Eve’ (除夜, 2015) , no (の)
which is a possessive meaning ‘of,’ and kane
(鐘) which means ‘clock’ or ‘bell’ (鐘, 2015) . Together it can be literally translated as
the ‘bell of New Year’s eve.’ This can
be observed at Buddhist
temples all over Japan. The temples will
ring their bells a total of 108 times to symbolize the 108 human earthly
desires described in Buddhism to ring out the old year and ring in the New Year.
Another enjoyable tradition is called hatsu-hinode (初日の出)
which means the ‘first sunrise of the New Year (初日の出, 2015) . Many Japanese wake early on New Year’s Day to
view the first sunrise which traditionally represents the commencement of the New
Year.
Lastly, some
of the greetings you may hear around the New Year are:
Before New Year’s
Day:
I wish you
will have a good new year.
Yoi otoshi o omukae kudasai. (formal)
よいお年をお迎えください。
Yoi otoshi o!
(casual)
よいお年を！
During New
Year's days (Jan.1st to 3rd), up to the middle of
January:
Happy New
Year.
Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu. (formal)
あけましておめでとうございます。
Akemashite
omedetou. (casual)
あけましておめでとう。
Bibliography
Bocking, B. (2014). Eho-mairi. Retrieved 2015, from A Popular Dictionary of Shinto: http://shinto.enacademic.com/103/Eho-mairi
Hugo. (2012). Shōgatsu or New-Years Celebrations in Japan! Retrieved 2015, from Kyoto Dream Trips: http://www.kyotodreamtrips.com/2012/12/31/shogatsu/
Japanese New Year. (2015). Retrieved 2015, from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_New_Year
New Year. (2008). Retrieved 2015, from Japan-Guide: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2064.html
初日の出. (2015). Retrieved 2015, from Wiktionary: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%88%9D%E6%97%A5%E3%81%AE%E5%87%BA
初詣. (2015). Retrieved 2015, from Wiktionary: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%88%9D%E8%A9%A3
年賀状. (2015). Retrieved 2015, from Wiktionary: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%B9%B4%E8%B3%80%E7%8A%B6
忘年会. (2015). Retrieved 2015, from Wiktionary: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%BF%98%E5%B9%B4%E4%BC%9A
月. (2015). Retrieved 2015, from Wiktionary: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%9C%88
正. (2015). Retrieved 2015, from Wiktionary: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%AD%A3
正月. (2015). Retrieved 2015, from Wiktionary: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%AD%A3%E6%9C%88
鐘. (2015). Retrieved 2015, from Wiktionary: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%90%98
門松. (2015). Retrieved 2015, from Wiktionary: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%96%80%E6%9D%BE
除夜. (2015). Retrieved 2015, from Wiktionary: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E9%99%A4%E5%A4%9C
