If you want to see inside Japanese culture, all you need to do is be a fly on the wall in the home of a family in Japan during the New Year’s holiday.
Japanese Oshogatsu (お正月), or Japanese New Year, weaves together Japanese customs and rituals to emphasize family, spirituality, and renewal over the days of January 1-3. Traditionally, businesses are closed during these days.
The New Year’s holiday in Japan is when people feel most connected to their culture. I have observed much over the years from my Japanese family. Want to see inside?
Preparation for New Year's
I couldn’t believe we were doing such deep cleaning of the house. Washing windows, getting the dirt out of the window sills, scrubbing walls, dusting behind furniture, and scrubbing everywhere in the kitchen and bath are what I thought should happen for spring cleaning.
In Japan, this annual deep cleaning happens at the end of the year. It is preparation for the sense of renewal that comes with the new year.
Early in my marriage, there was a lot of food preparation as well. Special dishes that keep well over a few days and allow for a break in cooking during the holiday were common many years ago. These dishes are nostalgic for many older Japanese people.
New Year's Eve (お晦日)
Every year on New Year’s Eve, my wife has watched the televised singing contest called Kohaku Utagasen (紅白歌合戦). This singing contest between popular male and female singers features old and new songs and builds up to midnight and the welcome of the New Year.
As soon as the clock strikes midnight, Buddhist temples around the country ring big temple bell 108 times in a ritual called Joya no Kane. This represents purification from earthly desires that cause suffering and signals a fresh start for everyone.
Just before welcoming in the New Year, my wife prepares a bowl of hot noodles. Eating Toshikoshisoba (年越しそば) is a ritual that represents longevity.
New Year's Day (元旦)
It’s typical for Japanese families to visit a temple or shrine on New Year’s Day, or at least within the first three days of the new year. This New Year’s ritual is called Hatsumode (初詣) and is a time when people pray for health and prosperity. Famous shrines, like Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, can have millions of visitors on New Year’s Day.
For my family, it’s a lazy day stretched out on the floor watching New Year’s Day TV programs, the shows that are only broadcast on New Year’s. (No football games on Japanese TV on New Year’s Day 😅)
We also enjoy a feast of traditional Japanese dishes that signify various meanings for the New Year.
Special Holiday Food
Starting with noodles that represent longevity on New Year’s Eve, many other Japanese dishes hold cultural meaning.
Osechi Ryori (おせち料理), the traditional New Year’s bento box, includes these, as well as some vegetable dishes:
- shrimp – Considered “the old man of the sea,” shrimp represents longevity.
- kamaboko – This half-moon shaped fish sausage with a red and white color combination represents the first sunrise of the year.
- kazunoko – This crunchy, salty herring roe symbolizes a wish for a healthy family and many children.
- kobumaki – This is a roll of seaweed wrapped around fish. The sound of the word is similar to the word for joy, so it represents joy and happiness.
- grilled sea bream – This fish is often served for celebrations, not only at New Year’s, because the Japanese name for this fish can be said in a way that sounds like the word for congratulations, thus representing a wish for good fortune and prosperity.
- kuromame – These black beans are common at New Year’s because the word “mame” also has the meaning of diligence, thus eating them is a wish for healthy diligence in the year ahead.
- datemaki – These sweet omelette rolls are cut with a unique design that look a little like scrolls. Eating them is a wish for academic success.
- ozoni – This New Year’s soup has variations for different parts of Japan, but in Kansai where we lived, this soup is characteristically made from white miso with mochi added in the soup. Mochi can be used in various New Year’s dishes and represents fortune and longevity, as well as good luck and happiness.
I would be remiss to not mention sushi when talking about Japanese food. Sushi can be eaten at any time of the year, but is also included with New Year’s meals. I’ve heard that sushi can represent abundance and good luck. Sushi can be found in the Osechi Ryori boxes or ordered separately.
Are We Full Yet?
You can bet that you’ll be full on New Year’s Day, but it never stopped there in my family.
On the second, third, and even the fouth of January, we often overate at family meals with dishes like:
- crab hot pot
- sukiyaki – a shallow style of hot pot with thinly sliced meat, vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, and noodles
- shabu-shabu – another style of hot pot in which thinly sliced meat is swished in the boiling broth just enough not to be raw any longer
Gift-giving (お年玉🧧)
Instead of gifts from Santa, kids in Japan look forward to New Year’s money. The cash in the special Otoshidama (お年玉) envelopes kids receive from parents and other adult relatives ranges from a little to a lot depending on the child’s age and relationship closeness of the relative.
It was something I had to prepare for. I had to know that my nephews were expecting this from me at our first time together in the new year.
New Year's Greetings (年賀状)
One employee who has to work on New Year’s Day morning is the postal delivery person. Racing from house to house to deliver stacks of New Year’s greeting postcards that cannot be delivered before January 1st are the task on these delivery riders.
This custom of sending New Year’s greeting postcards is a way of extending the relationship request for another year to our important friends. Businesses are also diligent about sending these postcards to faithful customers.
Despite the decline in paper postcards due to digital sending methods, the Japanese still love receiving these New Year’s greetings.
My Greetings to You!
Even though this is not a Japanese postcard, I send this to you with the same sentiments. May you have a prosperous year in 2025 and may our friendship grow!
