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In Japan, New Year (o-shogatsu) is the most important holiday. Businesses typically close between the end of December and January 3, and families gather from near and far to celebrate together.
It is perhaps also the least relaxing holiday—the Japanese dedication to tradition and detail means hard work aplenty before the well-earned rest can begin.
Take the New Year cards, nenga-jo, for example. These are crucial for showing respect and gratitude to friends, business partners and generally anyone you wish to maintain a good relationship with. Although the number of cards quickly builds up, failing to send nenga-jo is considered disrespectful. What’s more, the cards MUST arrive early on January 1.
Then, there is osouji, the Great Cleaning. To give the coming year a fresh start, homes and workplaces are vacuumed, scrubbed and polished to gleaming perfection. Small shimekazari wreaths appear on front doors everywhere, and storefronts are adorned with the larger kadomatsu decorations. In every home, a |
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kagamimochi ornament, consisting of layered rice cakes with a small sweet orange on top, is placed in the best room as an offering to the gods.
In the kitchens, marathon cooking sessions unfold as wives and daughters prepare osechi ryori, special New Year’s dishes served in a three-tiered lacquerware box. |
| Traditionally, the first three days of January are for resting, particularly January 1, which represents the rest of the year and should be free of stress. Hence, three days’ worth of food needs to be |
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prepared in advance.
On New Year’s Eve, families can finally sit down together to eat toshikoshi soba, special noodles symbolizing longevity. On the morning of January 1, it is time to sip otoso, herb-flavored rice wine, and enjoy the New Year’s food before praying for prosperity at a shrine. For the hard-working Japanese, a precious time of tranquility and relaxation has begun… |
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