How to celebrate the new year in Japan - 5 amazing traditions of this holiday.

The way they celebrate the new year in Japan will seem amazing to you! This is a lot of gifts, tangerines decorating mochi, pine trees at the entrance instead of spruce in decorations, and the golden week before December 31st. In this article, we will look at 5 Japanese New Year traditions. Ready?

#1 Edible Mochiban and Kagami-Mochi Decorations

In Japan, there is a tradition to decorate houses with fir branches with hanging ornaments. It seems to be nothing unusual, we do it too. But besides New Year's balls and figurines, the Japanese also have multi-colored mochi hanging on the branches.
This is the mochibana. The Japanese New Year is unimaginable without them.
After the New Year holidays, the mochibana is eaten. And each member of the family should eat as much as he is old!

Is there some more Kagami-mochi- This is a pyramid of two or three mochi with a tangerine topped at the top. They are prepared before the New Year and placed near Shinto altars. On January 1, the Japanese go to temples and break Kagami-mochi into pieces to eat along with a sweet red adzuki bean oshiruko soup.

#2 New Year's mascots

Kumade.

This is generally a rake. Who would have thought: a rake is the talisman of the New Year. For a long time, the Japanese believe that Kumade rakes luck into a heap.
They are sold in Shinto shrines, adorned with various symbols of good luck and wealth.

Kadomatsu.

Instead of spruce, the Japanese decorate pine. Or rather, Kadomatsu.
This is a Christmas decoration made of pine, bamboo, ferns and other items tied with a straw rope.
Kadomatsu is placed on the street in front of the entrance to a house or apartment - this will be a greeting to the deity
New Year and its temporary shelter.

Daruma.

This is a Japanese roly-poly doll, which personifies the Japanese deity Bodhidharma. It is believed that it is Bodhidharma who brings happiness to the house. In Japan, these dolls are made from wood, papier-mâché or paper. On New Year's Eve, the owner of the doll makes a wish and then draws a pupil on one of the doll's eyes. The whole year is kept in a conspicuous place, most often, next to the altar. If by the next year the wish comes true, then the second eye is added to the daruma, if not, then the doll is taken to the temple and burned.

#3 gifts

Gifts for the New Year in Japan- a special part of the holiday. The Japanese always give a lot of gifts: to friends, colleagues, relatives, but according to tradition, they can be divided into types - O-seibo and Otoshidama.

O-seibo gift. This is an ancient tradition. It began with offerings to the gods.
Gradually, ministers and people who played an important role in the fate of the family began to receive gifts. They usually gave dried fish, rice flour and other food products. Now these are sets of tea, coffee or household chemicals.

A gift can be simple, because, first of all, it is the fulfillment of a social duty associated with expressing gratitude for help and attention. Usually, the recipient of the gift will respond in kind, but will give a more valuable gift.
In order to thank the Japanese to everyone he considers necessary, supermarkets have a special service. Samples are displayed on store shelves, sorted by value: 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 50,000 yen. Specify in the form the number of recipients, their addresses and names. The rest will be done by specialists, packed and delivered.

Even easier - the gift you need can be ordered via the Internet by paying for it by card.

Another kind of gifts are called Otoshidama. Translated from Japanese - the treasure of the year. These are envelopes with money. But very nice envelopes. The Japanese give them to their children, grandchildren, nephews, etc.

#4 New Year's Eve

How is New Year celebrated in Japan? On New Year's holidays, the Japanese are very sentimental. They visit relatives, wish them well-being, go to places where they once grew up and visit temples. Women, by the way, at this time wear special insulated kimonos (sometimes even with fur) - haregi.

In Japan, the New Year is celebrated exclusively with the family, and they also believe that in the first seconds of the New Year you need to laugh - this brings good luck.

After midnight people go to Buddhist temples, to listen to the sound of 108 bells and make wishes.

“According to Buddhist beliefs, a person can have six vices: greed, anger, stupidity, frivolity, indecision and greed; each of them, in turn, has 18 different shades. Thus, a person is burdened by 108 pernicious passions. And every stroke of the bell on New Year's Eve drives away one of these misfortunes.

After the Buddhist temples, the Japanese go to others - Shinto. There they drink sake from beautiful kegs and eat Kagami-mochi.

#5 Santa Claus

And what about Santa Claus? In Japan, he is also there, his name is Segatsu-san (Mr. New Year) and he is dressed in an insulated blue kimono. He also goes from house to house and congratulates the kids on the upcoming, but there is one "but" - he does not give gifts. Therefore, recently, children prefer Oji-san (Santa Claus), who appeared in Japan not so long ago, but does not come empty-handed.

So how can we briefly answer the question: How is the New Year celebrated in Japan? The Japanese observe, though strange for us, but such touching traditions. And celebrate the new year with the family.

New Year - the biggest holiday for all countries and peoples. It's a holiday that lets you let downthe results of the past year, remember what happened over the past year, rejoice at happy events and vice versa with sadness remember and see off those who have been lost, leave unfulfilled plans in the past and tune in to the new year, in which everything will surely come true. This is a holiday of new aspirations and hopes, and many nations have a tradition of making wishes for the New Year, which, well, simply must come true!

In distant Japan, the New Year is also one of the main holidays, in the celebration of which ancient traditions have been preserved, on which elements of Western culture were layered after the Second World War. Japan celebrates the New Year together with the whole world on January 1, but until 1873 the Japanese New Year was celebrated according to the Chinese lunar calendar and did not have an exact date. The first day of the new year was "floating" and fell at the beginning of spring.

The New Year is a public holiday, as a rule, the New Year holidays fall on the period from December 29 to January 3, and most of the country's institutions do not work during this time.

But for example, for Japanese mail - January 1 is the most responsible and stressful day of the year,

because it is on this day that postal workers will deliver New Year greeting cards to all citizens, which the Japanese traditionally send to their relatives and friends. The number of cards sent with congratulations, wishes of good luck and health in the new year is simply breathtaking. On average, each Japanese receives up to 40 postcards, and more than 127 million people live in Japan.

New Year in Japan is considered more of a religious holiday and feasts and feasts, as a rule, do not happen, but New Year in Japan precedes. Christmas, unlike the New Year, although it is not a public holiday, is nevertheless celebrated by the inhabitants of Japan on a larger scale and more fun.

New Year in pre-war times in Japan was celebrated throughout January, after a while New Year began to celebrate only the first week of January matsu no teach, now New Year is celebrated for three days.

They prepare for this holiday for a long time and already in early December, tall and festively decorated Christmas trees appear on the streets of cities, squares and supermarkets, it is forbidden to cut down live Christmas trees, so you can only find artificial ones everywhere. An indispensable attribute is Santa Claus and cheerful New Year's melodies. Additional stalls appear on which Christmas and Christmas items are sold, on postcards they are depicted presented in the coming year, for example, a horse and a horseshoe. There are also many holiday fairs and sales,

Just like everyone before the New Year, every housewife in Japan is immersed in worries and troubles. It is necessary to put things in order at home, buy gifts for relatives and friends, be sure to dress up the symbol of the new year - kadomatsu.

Kadomatsu is a Japanese New Year decoration that is placed both in front of the house and inside the dwelling. Previously, it was a pine tree, a symbol of longevity, but now kadomatsu consists of three essential parts, this is bamboo, its presence in the composition speaks of the desire that children in the family grow up quickly like bamboo, the presence of plum carries the wish of strong helpers for parents, and the pine wishes the whole family longevity. All this is tied with a straw rope, definitely this year. According to legend, the New Year deity lives in kadomatsu, this is his temporary sanctuary.

Trees for kadomatsu (where real trees are used) are cut down on the lucky day of December 13, and kadomatsu harvested on January 4, 7 or 14.

If kadomatsu (literally “pine at the entrance”) is placed in front of the house, then they must be placed in pairs, and a rope woven from straw is hung between them, which acts as a talisman.

katorisi work

Since the New Year is a religious holiday for the Japanese, many reserve places in Buddhist and Shinto shrines in advance, entry to such shrines can be free, or it can cost decent money.

If we are used to celebrating the New Year to the sound of chimes, then the Japanese celebrate the New Year to the sound of bells, which immediately begin to ring throughout Japan and this ringing is heard in every corner of the country. The battle of the bells will mark 108 strokes - with each stroke of the bell, human vices go away and a person purified and renewed enters the new year. The temples invite the Japanese to take part in this action.

December 31 in Japan is called oomi juice, these are the final preparations for the New Year, which means that all things must be completed this year, on this day everyone pays off their debts, if they left them at the end of the year, they clean their homes and prepare festive dishes, everything should be completed this past year .

Since all Japanese equally attend both Shinto and New Year celebrations, the New Year's celebration is clearly divided into two parts. This is the celebration of the last day of the outgoing year, everything related to death, and the outgoing old year also belongs to this number and belongs to Buddhism, and therefore richly dressed Japanese go to Buddhist temples to pray and give thanks for all the good that was in the outgoing year and to the ringing of 108 bells to be cleansed of all sins.

New Year in Japan - O-shogatsu - is one of the main holidays for the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun, along with the Day of the Foundation of the State and the Birthday of the Emperor. Until 1873, the Japanese celebrated the New Year according to the Chinese lunar calendar, but with the beginning of the Meiji era, they began to celebrate according to the Gregorian. At one time, the celebrations lasted all of January. Now the official holiday lasts from December 28 to January 4.

In general, any holiday in Japan is subject to strictly defined rules and rituals. It just doesn't do anything.

Preparations begin in early December.

Holiday fairs and bazaars open. It is here that you can buy basic gifts, souvenirs, amulets, other talismans and ritual items needed to celebrate the New Year. Hamaimi - blunt arrows with white plumage, which protect the house from troubles and evil forces.

Takarabune - boats with rice and other treasures, on which sit seven gods, symbolizing prosperity and happiness. Such boats, as well as pictures depicting seven gods, are placed under the pillow on New Year's Eve to have a prophetic dream.

Daruma is a Buddhist deity, a doll similar to a tumbler made of wood or papier-mâché. Daruma initially has no eyes. One eye will be drawn to her by her owner when she makes a cherished wish. But the second eye does not appear in every daruma. It is drawn only if a wish is fulfilled within a year. Then the doll will be given the most honorable place in the house. And, if the wish does not come true, then the doll will be burned along with other attributes of the New Year's Eve. And hopes will be pinned on the next doll.

Mandatory talisman for good luck - kumade (bear paw). It looks like a rake made from bamboo. It is believed that they are very convenient to "rake in" happiness.

Bazaars and fairs are given a special flavor by hagoita (racquets for playing shuttlecock). On the reverse side of the racket board are placed portraits of the actors of the Kabuki theater or scenes from his performances. Many hagoita are colorful panels, and therefore these fairs-markets are often called "hagoita-iti". Such a racket is considered an expensive gift. For each purchase, the Japanese will definitely receive a traditional figurine of an animal, under the sign of which the new year will pass.

One of the most obligatory rituals in anticipation of the New Year is house cleaning (susu harai - cleaning from soot and soot). Literally every corner must be cleaned. Dirty, untidy housing will not be visited by the Shinto Deity of the Year Toshigami, and then luck will bypass this house.

Then the house is decorated.

On both sides of the entrance to the house are placed kadomatsu - "pine tree at the entrance." This is a greeting to the deity of the New Year holiday, made up of bamboo trunks, pine branches, fern branches, tangerines and other decorations. All the components of Christmas decorations symbolize something. Instead of kodomatsu, you can find shimenawa - a rope made of rice straw, twisted in a special way, and decorated with tangerines and fern leaves. These compositions invite happiness, good luck and health to the house.

In houses, instead of our traditional Christmas trees, the Japanese put up willow or bamboo branches, decorated with mochi balls, flowers and fruits. This - mochibana christmas tree. Small buns made from glutinous rice are dyed in different colors and strung on twigs.

Mochibana are painted in yellow, green or pink colors and installed in a conspicuous place or hung from the ceiling at the entrance, so that the deity of the New Year - Toshigami, "entering the house", immediately recalled his "duty" to take care of the hospitable hosts in the coming year. According to legend, at the end of the festivities, each member of the family had to eat as many motiban koloboks as he was that year, as this gives special strength.

Mochi are also used as decorations in the Japanese home. Pyramid of two cakes of different sizes, crowned with Japanese citrus daidai. This decoration is called "kagami-mochi".

On New Year's Eve, the Japanese decorate not only their homes, but also put themselves in order: take a bath (furo) and put on a new festive kimono. Children under 12 years of age should celebrate the New Year in new, never worn clothes.

The most important pre-New Year's ritual is the distribution of New Year's greeting cards (nengajo) with the image of the symbol of the coming year - one of the twelve eastern signs of the zodiac. So much importance is attached to this tradition that even in the elementary grades of school, children are taught to write postcards correctly.

Many Japanese still even write their own text on a finished printed postcard and put a calligraphic signature, which indicates special respect for the addressee. But you can also buy a blank postcard to write and draw on it whatever your heart desires.

Postcards are sent by the thousands. After all, you need to congratulate literally all relatives, acquaintances and friends. Moreover, if you received a postcard from someone to whom you yourself did not send it, then you need to immediately correct the situation. It is advisable to send a response postcard by January 3rd. As a last resort, until the 7th, but already with apologies for being late. Those who have died in the past year are exempted from sending postcards. They must notify everyone in advance that they do not wish to receive congratulations this year.

In the last days of the year, all debts must be paid. Otherwise, they will roll over to the next year.

Holidays in Japan: the main resorts and attractions

You can't travel around countries like Japan in one visit, you can't explore. Only you can catch the atmosphere and make a general impression. And a long, complex wish list for the next visit. Let's try from the variety of resorts and cities to highlight the most popular and typical destinations for the country.

For most Japanese, work comes first. And celebrating holidays with colleagues is also an unbreakable tradition. All Japanese companies arrange bonenkai (forgetting the old year parties) for employees. Celebrate right at work or rent a restaurant. This evening (the only time in a year) the status frames are erased. There will be no punishment for familiarity and disrespect to the authorities.

Gifts are given, as a rule, on the eve of the New Year. The younger ones give gifts to the higher ones (seniors, teachers, relatives). Such gifts are called o-seibo. The cost of a gift to colleagues is clearly determined by rank. A gift can be ordered in advance in a special department of any store throughout December. It will be packed and delivered on the appointed day. Usually the first week of January.

Another type of gift is called otoshidama (treasure of the year). These are colorful envelopes, decorated with a special bow, with money. As a rule, such envelopes are given by fathers to their children. And in general, any older relatives - younger. Relatives of the older generation and people of the same position, as a rule, do not give anything to each other.

For the evening meal (omisoka) On December 31, the whole family gathers. There are no random items on the table. All with meaning. Thin buckwheat noodles symbolize longevity and well-being of the whole family.

Cold New Year's food (o-seti) is laid out in a four-story lacquer box. All these exotic dishes may not be the most delicious, but they contain a deep meaning and a whole philosophical system, because each product symbolizes some good. Thus, juubako (food from various types of boiled fish, vegetables and eggs) contributes to the perfection of a person, giving him peace, vivacity, purposefulness. Kazunoko - salted herring roe in broth with soy sauce gives happiness in family life and many healthy children. Kuromame - sweetened boiled black soybeans health and longevity, kagami-mochi - wealth. For joy - seaweed prepared in a special way, for success in business - roasted chestnuts. All New Year's dishes are so skillfully and beautifully arranged in combination with flowers and utensils that it is not for nothing that they figuratively say about the Japanese: they eat with their eyes, not their mouths.

Before eating food, it is supposed to drink o-toso - a ceremonial drink. "Toso" means the destruction of evil spells and the upliftment of the human spirit. Sake for o-toso is prepared from the infusion of medicinal plants according to a Chinese recipe. Japan is literally obsessed with the ceremony of preparing various components of o-seti, mochi rice cakes and zoni soup.

Then smartly dressed Japanese gather in temples. First in Buddhist. Here they pray, thank the gods for all the good things in the past year, and ring the bell to attract their attention in the coming year. Ringing the bell with the onset of the New Year is a special success. But the most important element of farewell is the most interesting New Year's ritual of cleansing from all sins. The largest copper bell is struck 108 times with a heavy log suspended on chains, thus announcing the end of the old year and the beginning of a new one.

According to Buddhist beliefs, a person can have six vices: greed, anger, stupidity, frivolity, indecision and greed; each of them, in turn, has 18 different shades. Thus, a person is burdened by 108 pernicious passions. And every stroke of the bell on New Year's Eve drives away one of these misfortunes.

In general, Japan meets the New Year with a cleansing bell ringing from all temples.

Having cleansed themselves, the Japanese go to Shinto temples, where they are already waiting for stacks of kegs of Japanese vodka - sake.

True, fun, dancing and shouting "Kampai!" (a toast meaning "let's drink", "to health") will be a little later. First, a new fire will be lit - okera mairi. The dried roots of okera (Japanese chrysanthemum) are used on December 31 to light sacred lanterns in temples. From the lanterns, the Japanese will light their straw ropes and carry the fire into their homes to kindle the first fire in the dwelling or the fire next to it. For happiness and health in the New Year.

According to another tradition, on New Year's Eve, the Japanese go to bed early to meet the new year at dawn. With the first rays of the sun, they clap their hands in front of them. This ritual is called "kashiwade".

Then everyone again goes to the temples, where they throw coins on special white cloths and pray. After that, the Japanese buy wooden tablets, where they write invocations to the gods and omikuji - paper strips with fortune telling.

Returning home, the Japanese will wash themselves with special "young" water. Again, for happiness and wealth, they will drink “happiness tea” with pickled plums and eat all this ozone soup from beans, vegetables, mushrooms, fish, shrimp, chicken and ... mochi!

Then they go to visit. Moreover, such visits are often purely symbolic. It is enough to walk and leave business cards “I was here” on a special tray.

January 2 is dedicated to the beginning of business. The first calligraphy competition among schoolchildren, the first tea ceremony, And… the Japanese make their first purchases at the first auction. Of course ... for good luck!

And then another one or two weeks are devoted to festive events. Someone competes in knowledge of traditional Japanese poetry. The boys fly kites (tako-ge). Girls play shuttlecock (hanetsuki), the same rackets (hagoita). Snow festivals (yuki motsuri) are held in the northern regions of Japan. The festival in Sapporo is especially famous, where fortresses, cities are built from snow and historical figures are molded.

Yes. But what about "Santa Claus"? Of course, Japan also has it. His name is Segatsu-san (Lord New Year). He is wearing a sky blue kimono. During New Year's Eve (golden) week, he goes from house to house and office wishing the Japanese a Happy New Year. But he does not give gifts. Therefore, in recent years, more and more little Japanese people prefer Oji-san (actually Santa Claus), who appeared in Japan not so long ago, but ... with gifts that he brings by sea.

The New Year holidays are completed by seeing off the Deity Toshigami with fire, in which all decorations and decorations are burned. This symbolizes the expulsion of evil spirits and the giving of healing properties to people.

There are only a few days left before the New Year. Everyone is already looking forward to the holiday and the New Year holidays.

As for us, the New Year in Japan is the most important calendar holiday. As I wrote earlier in my notes on the Japanese New Year, many rituals and ceremonies are associated with the New Year in Japan. I wrote about some of them in my note "". Today I decided to talk about something that was not in the previous notes.

Each coming year, both here and in Japan, and I think in all countries, is traditionally regarded as a new start, new opportunities, new discoveries. Therefore, all responsibilities for the outgoing year must be completed by the end of the year.

During December, 忘年会 "bonenkai" is held everywhere in Japan, which can be translated as "seeing off the outgoing year", which are held with the aim of leaving all the worries and troubles of the old year behind. Bonenkai is very reminiscent of Russian corporate parties in December. They are necessarily held at every Japanese company, for which a restaurant is booked in advance. Bonenkai are also organized among friends, interest clubs, etc.

It is worth saying that despite the festive mood, New Year's Eve in Japan is quite troublesome. Homes and businesses need to carry out general cleaning. When I worked in Tokyo, one of the last working days (December 27 or 28) was mandatory for all employees to do a big cleaning in the offices. Housewives did general cleaning in houses and apartments. That is, everyone cleaned everything out, threw out the trash, sorted out unnecessary things, got rid of unnecessary papers in the office, etc. However, this tradition is similar to our country and others, where it is also recommended to clear your house of rubbish before the New Year.

On December 31, that is, in fact, on New Year's Eve, the Japanese serve 年越しそば "toshikoshi soba" (buckwheat noodles), symbolizing longevity, on the table. I myself had to eat this gray noodles several times on December 31 in the company of the Japanese.

As I already wrote in last year's notes, the custom of visiting the temple in the first days of the new year is especially zealously observed by all Japanese. It's called "hatsumode". The whole family goes to the temple either on January 1, or on January 2 or 3. Usually they choose either a temple adjacent to the house, or a temple especially revered in the city where they live. In the temple, you need to make a small donation, pray, purchase amulets for the coming year.

One of the most popular temples in Tokyo is the Meiji Shrine in the Harajuku area. Several million people spend the first 3 days of the new year at Meiji Shrine. Most impressive is the hatsumode at the actual beginning of the year, when the big temple bells ring at midnight.

But, perhaps, the most interesting and fun begins after returning home from the temple. First, everyone usually sits down at the festive table, where they are happy to eat New Year's treats - o-seti ryori. Having rested after a sleepless night (if they did not go to bed), the Japanese begin traditional entertainment.

Most lucky Japanese kids. They receive a traditional New Year's gift - envelopes with money, which are called お年玉 "o-toshidama", which can be translated as "New Year's treasure". By the way, in the first years of my stay in Japan, some Japanese families that I managed to visit at the beginning of the new year on winter holidays also gave me o-toshidama, apparently, they considered me still a child in their country, since I was still nothing not understanding gaijin :) I was very pleased to receive such an envelope with Japanese yens!

On the first New Year's days, children play traditional games. The girls play 羽根突き "hanetsuki", a game similar to badminton. Rackets in this game are made of wood and decorated on one side with drawings. The boys go out into the open and fly kites - 凧揚げ "takoage".

Well, adults play their games, for example, dice or cards. Moreover, they usually take sake 酒 rice wine during the game, most often heated, which is called 熱燗 "atsukan". Also, one of the favorite activities of the Japanese in the first days of January is the analysis and reading of piles of New Year's cards 年賀状 "nengajo".

Recently, traditional entertainment is gradually being replaced by modern ones. For example, like ours, collective viewing of New Year's shows and concerts on TV. There are concerts with modern J-pop music, they are more for young people. And for older Japanese, concerts are recorded with old Japanese songs 演歌 "enka" (such as ballads).

When the Japanese go out into the street, when they meet neighbors and acquaintances, they bow and say the words あけましておめでとうございます "akemashite omedo: gozaimasu", which means "Happy New Year!".

By the way, it is not customary for the Japanese to visit guests on New Year's holidays. New Year is considered exclusively a family holiday that unites people of different generations. Therefore, usually adult children who live separately from their parents try to come to their parents' house for the New Year holidays, and those who already have their own children, respectively, along with their grandchildren.

After the New Year holidays are over and employees of firms return to work, the echoes of the New Year celebrations will continue throughout January. Companies are again holding corporate parties, but now dedicated to the coming New Year. Such New Year's parties are called 新年会 "shinnenkai".

In my Tokyo company, both bonenkai and shinenkai were always held, and the latter often went to other cities. For example, once we went to Nagano Prefecture, Karuizawa with an overnight stay to celebrate the New Year there.

I wish all my readers and students a Happy New Year. Before the New Year in Japan, it is customary to say and write in letters よいお年をお迎えください! (Yoi o-toshi o omukae kudasai), which can be translated as "I wish you a good new year!"

And add 皆様にとりまして、幸多き年になりますよう心よりお祈り申し上げます! (Mina sami ni torimashite ko:ki toshi ni narimasu yo:kokoro yori o-inori mo:shi agemasu), which roughly translates as "From the bottom of my heart, I wish everyone a very happy New Year!" or as an option "I pray for all with all my heart" (a more literal translation).

So, you got acquainted with the traditions of celebrating the New Year in Japan. I hope you were interested. Write comments and questions.

In the Land of the Rising Sun, there are quite a few unusual traditions and customs associated with the New Year. By the way, this is the most important holiday of the year, and it is always celebrated on a grand scale. The following describes only a small part of the rituals that are relevant exclusively to Japan.

Kimono - New Year's clothes

Once upon a time, the Japanese wore kimonos almost constantly. But now these clothes are festive. So the New Year, as well as a few days after its onset, becomes an excellent occasion to put on a kimono.

The tradition is honored not only by ordinary people, but also by local celebrities. It is enough to watch New Year's TV programs and see that many presenters and guests will come to the studio in kimonos.

First prayer

Hatsumode is the name of the first prayer that the people of Japan say in the new year. To do this, they go to one of the temples, taking their family with them. In prayer, it is customary to thank the gods for all the good things that happened in the past year, and to ask for well-being in the coming year.

As soon as the prayer comes to an end, you need to take a few small coins and throw them into a special box. This ritual is also more than a hundred years old. The money will also be useful for buying omikuji (small pieces of paper with predictions) and ema charms. Such products are available in all temples without exception.

You can make the first prayer in any temple, but the most popular of the shrines is the Meiji Jingu in Tokyo. Between January 1 and 3, more than 3 million people come here to pray. Moreover, some specially come from other prefectures, and are ready to spend a single hour in line, just to get to prayer here.

Meeting with the imperial family

January 2 of each year is celebrated as New Year's Day in Japan. Another tradition is connected with this date - thousands of citizens come to the territory of the imperial palace to meet with the emperor and his family. To do this, the whole family goes to the balcony of the palace and accepts congratulations, after which they thank the audience.

The event has the intricate name of ippan sanga, and became popular with the active participation of the imperial court. Japan's leaders have always believed that the government and people should be united, and the New Year is an excellent occasion to establish such a connection.

First workout

Hatsugeiko - literally translated "the first lesson." A tradition that operates in schools where children are engaged in martial arts. It shows the importance of the chosen business, and the need to continue training, even if you recently enjoyed the holiday. Hatsugeiko are held on January 2 and 3.

Divination by New Year's dreams

Dreams that come to people on the night of January 1-2 and January 2-3 are called hatsuyume. There is a belief that they can predict the fate of the whole next year. So, the symbols of good luck and prosperity are: Mount Fuji, falcon and eggplant.

And what about the eggplant? Not everyone knows, but the Japanese love this vegetable. It is part of many dishes, and earlier it was considered a scarce delicacy.

Fukubukuro - bags of happiness

Several decades ago, on the first days of the new year, shops and markets were closed. But with the advent of modern shopping and shopping centers, everything has changed. As a result, on January 1 and 2, they hold a sale called Hatsuuri.

The essence of this event is that only one product is offered to buy - . This is a package with products from a store, the contents of which are unknown. Why then buy it? It's simple - the cost of goods in any of these packages is much more than you have to pay for it. It is not surprising that there are huge queues of people who want to get at least one fukubukuro at the shops.