Japanese New Year celebration is called shogatsu takes place from January 1-3. New Year's Day on January 1 is called Ganjitsu (元日) and is a Japanese national holiday. People say to each other "ake-mashite-omedetou-gozaimasu" (Happy New Year) *sensei Baby SN wish I cenggini, I nganga je sbb tak tau camne nak jawab balik kui3x*.
Before midnight on New Year's Eve, temples around the country begin to ring bells 108 times called joya-no-kane. It is said that the tolling of the bells purify ourselves of our 108 worldly desires. People say to each other "yoi otoshiwo" which means "Have a nice year passing" on New Year's Eve.
People usually spend New Year's holidays quietly at home eating various food *tak macam kat tempat kita, keluar gi konsert lah, bunga api lah, clubbing lah hohoho*. There is a custom of giving money (otoshidama) to children during New Year's holidays in Japan.
Japanese people eat special dishes called osechi ryori during shogatsu. The foods are colorful and artistically presented. Each dish has a particular meaning. For exampl; prawns for long life, kuromame (sweet black beans) for health, kazunoko (herring roe) for fertility, tazukuri (teriyaki taste small sardines) for a good harvest, kurikinton (sweet chestnuts and mashed sweet potato) for happiness, and so on. It is also traditional to eat mochi (rice cake) dishes during New Year's holidays. Zouni (rice cake soup) is the most popular mochi dish.
Here are the list of events that my family & I have joined for this 2010 new year celebrations :-
(1) Mochi-tsuki
Since it's traditional for the Japanese to eat rice cake (mochi) during New Year's holidays, mochi-tsuki (pounding of mochi rice) is done at the end of the year. We had another mochitsuki event organized by the management of our international student apartment on 26th Dec 2009 ago. Our first experience with mochi-tsuki can be read in my previous entry : Japanese Rice Cake : Mochi (click).
(2) Hatsumoude at Dazaifu Temangu Shrine
It is traditional for Japanese people to visit (hatsumoude) to a shrine or a temple during New Year's holidays. People pray for safety, health and good fortune. It is not a very religious event but rather a custom. Many well-known temples and shrines are extremely crowded. Some temples and shrines expect a couple million visitors during New Year's holidays each year. Since it is not a religious event, we decided to experience the event by joining the millions of Japanese people at Dazaifu Temangu Shrine on Jan 1, 2010.
According to my labmate, Ueno-kun ; Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine is the shrine where Michizane Sugawara, God of Academic is worshiped. People from all over Japan visit here to pray for the success in their study. We had the chance to try on one of the specialties of Dazaifu Temangu Shrine known as Umegae-mochi, which is a special rice cake with pasted sweet beans inside. Ume means plum, and it is the simbol of Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine.
Toka Ebisu shrine is usually quiet but it becomes busy with many visitors during the new year festival called “Toka Ebisu”, held from January 8th to 11th. It is located inside Higashi Park at Yoshizuka, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City.
Naturally, the enshrined gods of the shrine are Kotoshironushino-Okami “Ebisu” and Okuninushino-Okami “Daikoku”. Over a million people visit here and wish for the success in business or family prosperity.
During the festival, visitors visit to the shrine and receive bamboo grass, a straw bag, a bamboo rake, a charm, an amulet, a gold coin and other special good luck items, these are all very precious to the Japanese people. The bamboo grass has straight, elastic trunk and leaves. The leaves do not wither quickly and is a symbol of success in business.
Coming of Age day a.k.a hari cukup umur (成人の日 Seijin no Hi) is another Japanese new year event held annually on the second Monday of January. It is held in order to congratulate those who have reached the age of 20 years old , and to encourage them on realizing the fact that they have become adults; meaning that they can now do SDV (Smoke, Drink and Vote) *aiyoyo..bahaya nih ngeeeeeee*.
# Info's gathered from gojapan, wikipedia & japan hover. #
29 words of wisdom & comments:
oo..diorang ni atheis ek mostly? mmm.....kalau dikenang2 sedih la cara org kita celebrate...menghancurkan diri sendiri saje
betol tu kak..kat malaysia ni bila thn bru je maksita pun bertambah..adeh..mcm x de agama je kn..
bagusnyo ogeh2 Jepun ni sambut thn baru lagu tu.
bestnyer dapat infos culture of others. enjoy this post & infos!
errrmmmm...Malaysian pun patut buat camnikan...just omit yg beliefs part tu...aman & close-knit celebrate New Year!
memang beza cara masyarakat jepun menyambut tahun baru...unik sesangat..orang malaysia sekarang dah ala kebaratan konsert sana-sini memanjangnya...
Thanks sudi kongsi info ni..as usuall akak mmg suka Jepun..dan budayanya yg tersendiri..diaorg x heran sgt dgn budaya barat tu..x mcm org kita..
memang menarik yatie...
tgk pun dah tertarik... itulah pengalaman di negara org kan. mcm2 benda baru kita dpt lalui ;-)
wahh beshnya..untung baby SN..kecik2 dah diajar macam2..dah besar sok bila die baca entry ni..sure die rase bangga kan...bagusla yatie..
Bstnyo baby SN leh meraso budayo ore jepun..
=)
wah wahhh.. memang serba meriahh!!
YC; sedaknyo hok ado stroberi tuh.huhu nihon meme kayo dnge dessrt comey2.huhu jeles i tau..;))
i love japanase..sukela bace entri2 yatie psl nihon ni.. :)
i love japanase..sukela bace entri2 yatie psl nihon ni.. :)
banyaknya new year event kat jepun! tapi memang respect la cara diorang sambut new year. jauh bezanya dengan malaysia yang asyik sangat nak tiru budaya barat yang entah apa2..huhu. cara jepun ni tak nak pulak diikutnya
bestnye baby SN celebrate new year ya:)
kat Oman langsung x terasa..even firework or etc even lgsung takde..emm..best lg kat Jepun..tq for sharing yatiey chomel;)
bagusnye smbt new yr gitu...xdek la terkinja2 dlm club, merempit sume tuh ek...
seronok Yati and family,pengalaman baru baru betul adat timur
makan mochi jgn sampai tercekik lak..ingat2 la we all kat melben ni..hahhaa..meh hantar skit..
sanggup tu beratur panjang2 visit shrine..kalo beta, pengsan dah...
siti sifir >> aah diorg mmg xde agama, tp still diorg bpegang pd adat budaya..jd x teruk sgt lah perangai
atiqah >> tu la, sedih plak nk ngaku negara islam kan?
k.nur >> yup, very family-type celebration kan?
Hanz >> yup, agree with u. ni tak, kecoh smbut thn baru siap bergaduh bertumbuk2 lg huhuhu
ayu >> aah, agaknya klu tak wat konsert tu...camne la reaksi org kita erk?
ummu Ammar >> btol2x, wpon negara diorg maju tp ttp berpegang pd budaya
firahadifa >> btul2x, best sgt
**perfect love** >>aah, klu x dtg sini, x tau pasal semua ni kan? :)
eila >> bila baby SN dh besar nti, tak yah susah 2cite kat dia dah..suruh dia baca blog je eheh
jiey >> baby SN x pehe go sekaro lg, mommy & daddy hok lebih2 sokmo ngeee
k.izan >> meriah tp tak melalaikan ;)
izza >> meme la, nok make pon sero x sapa hati, sbb comey terlajok hheehe
mygoldenpen>> suke ye?ok,nti yatie tulis lg entry pasal ni byk2 ngeee
nadiah >> takpe, nti i blk msia, i smbut new year cara jepun ni eheh
nani >> ooo, langsung takde pulak ye? hik3x tak best gak eh klu x terasa apa2
tiey >> btol3x, tepatttt sekali
nadnye >> aah dasar pandang ke timur gitu hehe
mama miya >> i x masuk pon kat shrine, amik gmbr kat luar je dgn suasana org ramai2 tu..tak kuasa la nyah nk beratur dgn berjuta2 manusia tu hehe
yatie kat dai mane ek?
kitorang (akak) selalu shucchou ke panasonic tu tp sangt2 jarang jumpa ngan org mesia...
dazaifu adalah acara wajib setiap kali gi... heheheh
bagusnya mereka ni..org kita dah terlebih barat drp org2 barat sebenarnya..
Seronok tengok you dapat pegi sana sini & experience macamana rakyat negara lain menyambut berbagai2 acara..
Sejak bertunang dulu,I dah malas nak keluar2 i.e tengok konsert ke clubbing ke..so new year pun jarang nya sambut. Dok rumah je. Lagi aman he hee.. :)
laila >> yatie kat kyudai. umah kat imajuku. lenkali kalau dtg sini, jgn lupa contact yatie tau ;)
k.hamizah >> btul2x, org kita sibuk2 nk jd org barat
SOHO mama >> tu la..dpt gak merasa culture diorg yang penuh adat istiadat ketimuran ni :)
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