New Year is the most joyful holiday for all nations. It allows you to take stock of the past year, as well as remember all the pleasant things that have happened over the past 12 months. This article will tell you how the New Year is celebrated in Japan.
A bit of history
For many millennia, Japan lived isolated from the rest of the world. Only in the Meiji era, which began under the reign of Emperor Mutsuhito, was the Gregorian calendar introduced there, and the countdown of the new year began to be conducted from January 1. For the first time, the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun began to celebrate this event in the European manner in 1873. Prior to this, the New Year in Japan was celebrated according to the Chinese lunar calendar. During this period, the holiday did not have an exact date and, as a rule, fell on the first days of spring. Although more than 150 years have passed since then, and today many people who have never been to the Land of the Rising Sun are asking which New Year is in Japan, Chinese or European.
Features
New Year in Japan is a public holiday. Most of the country's institutions and privatecompanies do not work from December 29 to January 3. In the pre-war period, the New Year in Japan was celebrated throughout January. Later, the entire first week of this month was non-working - matsu-no-uchi. However, now only 3 days are allotted for recreation and entertainment in the family circle.
New Year's traditions in Japan are a mixture of European and local rituals, known long before Western influences entered the Land of the Rising Sun.
Over the past 150 years, a wide variety of games, rituals and ceremonies have appeared. In addition, stable traditions have developed during this time, which the Japanese are trying to observe with their inherent scrupulousness and punctuality.
How Japan celebrates the New Year: "prelude"
Preparation for the celebration begins long before the last leaf of the calendar is torn off. Already in mid-November, the season of New Year's fairs starts, where literally everything is offered - from souvenirs, jewelry and clothes, to a variety of ritual items that are necessary for decorating a home and serving a festive table. Just like in other countries, before the New Year, every Japanese housewife is immersed in household chores and worries. She needs to put things in order and cleanliness in her home, buy gifts for family and friends, and dress up kadomatsu.
Preparing for the holiday
To create the appropriate mood, already at the very beginning of winter, high and colorfully discharged spruces are installed on the squares and streets of cities, as well as in supermarkets. In Japan for a long timeit is forbidden to cut down living trees for these purposes, therefore only artificial trees are used everywhere.
An indispensable attribute of the holiday is Santa Claus, who has long become a favorite character for the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun. In addition, merry Christmas melodies are heard from everywhere and stalls selling themed postcards depicting the symbols of the coming year are everywhere.
Apogee of preparation for the holiday falls on December 31st. In Japan, it is known as oomisoka. It is believed that on this day you need to finish all the preparations for the New Year, have time to pay off your debts, clean your homes and cook traditional holiday dishes.
The main symbol of the Japanese New Year
Kadomatsu is a traditional decoration designed to be placed both in the courtyard of the house and inside the dwelling. Initially, for these purposes, the Japanese used pine, which was considered a symbol of longevity.
Today kadomatsu is created from 3 obligatory parts:
- bamboo, which symbolizes the wishes of he alth and success to children;
- plum, meaning the hope that they will become strong and reliable helpers to their parents;
- pines, which expresses the wish of longevity to the whole family.
The whole composition is tied up with a straw rope, twisted from this year's harvest. According to an old Japanese belief, the New Year deity settles in kadomatsu, which becomes his sanctuary during the holiday.
Installkadomatsu on December 13, as according to tradition, this day is lucky, and they clean up on January 4, 7 or 14.
If festive "trees" are placed in front of the house, then two compositions are used at once, between which they hang a rope woven from straw.
Charms
To celebrate the New Year in Japan, in accordance with tradition, it is recommended to purchase:
- Dulled hamaimi arrows with white plumage, designed to protect the house from evil forces and all sorts of troubles.
- Takarabune, which are boats with rice and other "treasures" on which the seven Japanese gods of luck travel.
- Kumade, reminiscent of a beech rake, the name of which translates as "bear's paw". Such a talisman is designed to "rake" happiness with them.
In addition, with every purchase made on the eve of the New Year, visitors are given a figurine of an animal that will "reign" for the next 12 months.
Daruma
This doll, resembling a tumbler, is made of wood or papier-mâché and personifies a Buddhist deity. Daruma has no eyes. It's made on purpose. One eye of the daurma is drawn by its owner. At the same time, he must make a cherished wish that he wants to be fulfilled in the coming year. The second eye may not appear in every daruma. It is drawn only if the wish made came true within a year. In this case, the doll is placed in the most honorable place in the house. If the wish does not come true, then the daurma is burned along with the rest.attributes of the New Year.
Christmas
Those who are interested in how the New Year is celebrated in Japan will surely be interested to know that in the Land of the Rising Sun they are even more magnificently preparing for the holiday, which is celebrated on December 25th. It has no state status and is called in the Japanese manner Kurisumasu. Since Christians make up about 1% of the population in Japan, Christmas in this country does not have any religious overtones. For most residents of the Land of the Rising Sun, it has become an occasion to spend a romantic evening with family and thank their other half with expensive and pleasant gifts.
Restaurant concerts on December 25th are very popular and are recommended to be booked weeks in advance.
Corporate events
For the majority of the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun, work comes first in life. An unbreakable tradition is the custom to celebrate this holiday with colleagues. Every Japanese company throws a bonenkai, or old year forgetting party, for employees. It is celebrated directly at work or a restaurant is rented for this purpose. Only on this evening, the only time in the year, the boundaries between subordinates and leaders are erased and no one is punished for disrespect or familiarity with superiors.
There is also a tradition of giving gifts to superiors or seibo. The cost of such offerings is clearlyregulated and determined by the rank of the person to whom it is presented. Gifts are usually ordered ahead of time in special departments of any store or supermarket from the beginning of December. They are packaged and delivered on the appointed day, usually during the first week of January.
How Japan celebrates New Year
A few hours before January 1, the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun take a bath and put on a beautiful kimono. According to an old custom, children under 12 should be dressed in new clothes.
The New Year's meal is of particular importance for the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun. It begins on the evening of December 31 and passes calmly and sedately, as nothing should distract people from thinking about the future.
The Japanese treat the New Year as a religious holiday, so they reserve places in Shinto and Buddhist temples in advance. It is interesting that along with the sanctuaries, where anyone can enter, there are also temples where you have to pay a round sum at the entrance.
If the Russians celebrate the New Year under the chimes, then for the Japanese its arrival marks the sound of bells. In total, the clergy make 108 strokes. It is believed that with each blow, various human vices go away, and each participant in the ceremony, already cleansed and renewed, enters the next year.
Gods of happiness
When the New Year comes, in Japan, according to tradition, all people go out to meet the dawn. It is believed that in these minutes to the country on a magic shipseven gods of happiness sail: Daikoku-sama (luck), Fukurokuju-sama (benevolence), Jurojin-sama (longevity), Benton-sama (friendliness), Ebisu-sama (sincerity), Bishamon-ten-sama (dignity), Hotei -sama (generosity).
Knock knock! Who's there?
January 1st is one of the busiest days for the Japanese postal service, as its employees have to deliver a huge number of holiday cards on this day. It is estimated that each inhabitant of the Land of the Rising Sun receives about 40 postcards on January 1st. If we consider that the population of the Japanese islands is 127 million people, it becomes clear what a titanic work falls to the lot of postmen. By the way, on the first of January, in the families of the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun, it is customary to look through the mail in the morning and compare the list of received postcards with the list of those that were sent. This is done in order to quickly send a response congratulations, since it is considered bad form to leave such correspondence unanswered.
How the Japanese spend the first of January
On the morning of the first day of the New Year, the people of Japan go to Shinto shrines. Shinto welcomes the joys of real life, so in front of the temples of this religion, on the occasion of the holiday, you can see traditional masu glasses with sake, intended for parishioners. Before enjoying the treat, worshipers perform an important ritual and receive sacred fire by setting fire to the medicinal potion okera mairi. Rising smoke drives out evil spirits from dwellings and protectspresent from disease and misfortune. After this, the congregation of Shinto shrines lights their straw ropes from the sacred fire. Then people carry them to their homes in order to place butsudan on the family altar or light the first fire in the new year for good luck.
In the second half of the first day of the New Year in Japan (photo of the festive illumination see above), local residents go on visits to relatives and friends. Sometimes such visits are limited to the fact that guests simply leave business cards with the concierge on a specially displayed tray.
Divination
At the end of the service in a Shinto shrine, believers buy there tickets with predictions called omikuji. They believe that what is written on these cards will surely come true in the coming year. Meiji Jingu, Kawasaki Daishi and Narita-san Shinshoji temples are especially popular among the Japanese for performing the ritual of the first prayer. It is estimated that more than 3 million people visited each of these shrines between January 1 and 3 inclusive.
January 2nd
The second day of the first month in the Land of the Rising Sun is called New Year's Greetings Day. By tradition, ordinary citizens can visit the imperial palace and see the mikado along with other representatives of the ruling dynasty. Royal persons on the day after the New Year in Japan (date - January 2) perform the ceremony of ippan sanga. The emperor, together with his family, goes out onto the balcony of his palace several times to accept congratulations from his subjects on the New Year.
Now you know what date the New Year is in Japan and how it is celebrated, therefore, once in the Land of the Rising Sun, you will not get into an awkward situation caused by ignorance of local customs.
