New Year's Eve Destinations - Japan

One of the things I like about Japanese culture is the traditional idea about regarding each year as separate and distinct from both the preceding and succeeding ones. So each New Year means a fresh start, and all pending business and duties are supposed to be resolved well beforehand and not carried over.

New Year in Japan is known as Shogatsu or Oshogatsu, and is one of the most important holidays in the country. Starting from usually 29 December and upto 3 January, most business establishments nationwide close shop and people usually head back home to greet the New Year with their families. The last of December sees a spate of Bonenkai Parties - Bonenkai means 'Year Forgetting', so, as you might guess, the purpose of these parties is to bid good-bye to the dying year, to rejoice over all the wonderful things that happened in its course, and to conveniently forget everything else that you might rather not remember - and, I suppose, unless you're an unusually saintly person, there'll be a lot of that!

Preparations for the New Year are begun well before the holidays commence. First of all there is the rigorous yearly cleaning of the home, which is known as Susuharai - the exact translation is soot-sweeping. This doesn't mean that the Japanese don't clean their homes all year around, just that they put in an extra effort at year end. The idea is to purify the dwelling place of all negative vibes and make a new positive start. After the cleaning, the whole place is decked out with decorations. These, of course, depend upon each family's taste - or the lack of it - but two types of traditional decorations are prevalently seen in almost every Japanese household. These are the Kadomatsu and the Shimenawa. The Kadomatsu, which is supposed to bring good luck to the house, is always placed on each side of the front entrance and is made up of bamboo, pine and plum boughs - either one of these or all three and usually a very elaborate, eye-catching creation. The Kadomatsu decorations remain in place usually until January 14 or sometimes earlier until January 7, and this duration is called Matunouchi (inside the pine).The Shimenewa is a type of streamer made up of a straw rope and festooned with strips of colored papers. This is hung in the front entrance to ward off any evil spirits that might mistake the Kadomatsu as a personal invitation for them.

Since the New Year holiday is meant to be a time of rest and relaxation for everyone, including the lady of the house, and also as shops are closed during this period, most of the special New Year food, or Shogatsu Food as it is called, is the sort that can be easily stored and prepared. This includes the famous Toshikoshi Soba, the buckwheat noodles that symbolize longevity, rice cakes called Omochi, which are usually grilled or eaten in a soup called Ozoni, and Otoso, which is a type of thickened wine made from rice and is offered to all visitors. Vegetables, fruit, and fish are also eaten. A portion of the food is set aside as an offering to the household gods.

On New Year's Eve and also on the three following days, the religious-minded visit shrines and temples to pray; the irreligious are as likely to go along, not only not to rattle their orthodox elders for a change, but also for the upbeat atmosphere. Japan has many very impressive shrines - like the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo and the Chion-in Temple in Kyoto, to give two examples - and visiting these during the New Year celebrations can be quite an experience, with the decorations everywhere and a lively crowd miling around and the huge temple bells starting to resound at midnight. This midnight custom is known as Joyo-no-kane and the tolling bells, which are rung upto 108 times to ring away man's 108 sins, are called Tsuri Gane.

Then, back home, where, as befitting these modern times, the T.V. rules the roost on this day too. The most popular program on New Year's Eve is "Kohaku Uta Gassen', a Music Show that has been running for about 50 years now and features all the big names of the Japanese Music Industry.

January 1 heralds in the New Year and is therefore considered the most auspicious day of all. Even if they'd been carousing till the wee hours on New Year's Eve, many people usually make an effort to be up early and either pray at home or visit a shrine in time for the sunrise. This, the first sunrise of a brand new year, is known as Hatsu Hinode. Unless you're determinedly perverse, there's no more uplifting way to start a day than by watching a beautiful sunrise dawning across the sky, and it is hoped that the rest of the year, taking a hint, will prove to be as promising.

Later, if you're lucky or popular or just blessed with thoughtful acquaintances, there is the visit from the mail-man (no, they don't get a holiday) to look forward to. The Japanese have been sending one another New Year's Greeting Cards long before it became fashionable in the West. The cards are called Nengajo. Japanese children also receive Otoshi-Dama or New Year's gifts - usually money in envelopes - from both their parents as well as from visiting relatives and family friends; the social visits during New Year are known as Nenshi. You can have the rest of the day to catch up on your sleep if you want. Or you can try your hand at traditional Japanese New Year past-times like Kite Flying (known as Tako-age) and Badminton (known as Hane-tsuki ). Another popular game is Karuta, a card game in which the cards have pictures and poems on them and the players are supposed to match the corresponding items.

January 2 is important for the business people as this is when they traditionally restock their merchandise for the coming year. This occasion is marked by a special ceremony called Hatsuni. Two other traditional ceremonies are Kaizone, the ceremony of calligraphic brushing, and Hatsu-Yume, or first dream.

January 3 is the day for the performance of the ancient Genshisai ritual, which includes the rare Gagaku dance and music, at the Imperial Court.

On January 4 it's back to the usual routine, but the celebrations continue in various forms until early February.