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The Japanese people usually celebrate both Christmas
and the New Year, as in the West, but here, the
celebrations are reversed in function and importance.
Christmas is not a national holiday, but a celebration
by children and retail stores primarily, with decorated
trees, the usual music and presents delivered by
Santa Claus. Christmas Eve is also a special night
for lovers, similar to Valentines Day, but on Christmas
Day, everyone returns to work and their preparations
for the year's most important holiday, New Year.
Home entrances are decorated with ornaments made
of pine and bamboo branches to welcome in the festive
spirits (literally), debts are paid, and houses
are cleaned. Offices and factories
close around December 29, and most other businesses
shut down from January 1 to January 3. People return
to their hometowns, where families typically gather
for feasting on traditional seasonal foods, such
as osechi (a variety of tasty and colorful cold
dishes prepared in advance so the women can relax,
too), otoso (sweetened rice wine) and ozoni (a soup
with rice cake). It is a tradition
to visit a shrine or temple during the holiday to
pray for good luck in the coming year, so, on New
Year's Eve ã after a hearty bowl of soba (buckwheat)
noodles, which symbolize longevity ã many families
make the trip just before midnight so as to hear
the bells announcing the New Year. In large cities,
special all-night trains carry throngs of people
to the major shrines. During the next three days,
the most popular temples and shrines, such as Tokyo's
Meiji Shrine, will attract several million people
each ã yes million! The crowds are awesome, even
by Japanese standards, but rather than a source
of irritation, they have become part of the tradition.
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