New Years in Japan

I love Christmas time. The sights, the sounds, the feeling of peace and joy on Earth. The love and merriment, and even the craziness. I love it all. Sadly, Christmas is not a big holiday in Japan. The Japanese are so in love with western culture that they try to copy our big holidays, but they seem to only copy the decorating part and miss the true joy of the holidays.


So, needless to say, my Christmas in Japan was quite tame. I was lucky enough to have the day off, and I spent the time talking with family in Canada. I also went shopping to get a few last minute things for the Christmas dinner Kris and I had with our friends. It wasn't a bad Christmas, just not a Christmas I'm used too. There wasn't even any snow!

But don't think just because there wasn't a grand Christmas that Japan is lacking on holidays. They have more than enough of their own. For starters, they have two four-day holidays; one in the spring called Golden week, and one in the fall called Silver week. They also have a whole slew of holidays thrown into their year. So many that it seems like I have a stat-holiday at least once a month. But the big Japanese holiday is New Years.

Unlike us, the Japanese aren't big on staying up till midnight to watch a glittering ball drop. If they do decide to stay up late, they'll stay up all night to watch the sun-rise. Many temples accommodate this tradition by having a festival all night that offers food, beer and other sundries to visitors. Then, on January 1st, thousands of people gather to the shrines and temples (don't ask me the difference between the two cause I have no idea).

While they do enjoy the festival, the big thing is to make an offering at the temple, ring the bell, and pray for good fortune for the upcoming year. After the prayer, you can purchase a multitude of charms and horoscopes. If you have a horoscope that predicts misfortune, you tie it to a tree (or any spot that has been dedicated to this custom). Some shrines (like the one we went to) also offer other mini-shrines you can make offerings to and pray to. These shrines are dedicated to a certain cause. For example, if you are a student preparing for your entrance exams for high school or university, you might make an offering to a shrine for education.

The shrine that we went to is pretty popular because, apparently, it specializes in car blessings. The cars line up at the front of one of the shrines and then everyone gets out of their car and goes inside. I have no idea what happens in there, but after a very long time, they come out and enter their cars. The monks from the shrine come outside and stand on the balcony and do a special car chant, complete with gongs and bells. Once the chant is done, a few of the monks walk amongst the cars with large poles that have a bunch of papers attached to them. I don't fully understand the papers, but they are folded a certain way to make them good luck charms. Anyways, the monks wave the poles around the cars while chanting. Once they are done, the cars leave the parking area, and the next group comes in.

Visiting the shrine is only one of the new years traditions. The other main tradition is the family time. Children (no matter what their age) return to their parents' home. They usually stay from the first until at least the third. During this time, no cooking or cleaning is supposed to be done. Which means that the poor mother is cooking like a mad woman on the thirty-first so that everything is ready for the upcoming feasts. I don't know a lot about these feasts, but I do know a bit about the food. One common new years food is zoni, which is a special vegetable and chicken soup. This soup is made with toasted mochi (rice cakes). We made it for our new years dinner and it was really yummy. Definitely something we'll make again.

Other foods that are common to new years are these boxes filled with different types of vegetables and seafood, like whole shrimp. The boxes should be assembled at home, but you can buy them from stores in advanced and have them delivered to your home either on new years or just in time for new years. But these boxes don't come cheap. The grocery store in the mall was selling them for about $100. I think I saw even some at 7-11 for $35. I don't know the full story, but each food has a special meaning, like long life or prosperity or something else depending on the food. Each thing is supposed to help bring good luck in the new year, and chase off evil spirits.

Since all this time is being spent with the family, a lot of places are closed until the 3rd or 4th. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. My bank's ATMs are open, but I've noticed a few that are closed. The big chain stores are open, but a lot of the smaller, family owned places are closed. The buses and trains are running, but a lot of them are running on a holiday schedule. Even some of the tourist destinations are closed.

The stores that are open offer "Happy Bags." Depending on the store and the items, a happy bag can go for $5-$100. They are filled with items from the store. Each store has signs and pictures of what is in the happy bag. I've seen happy bags filled with candy, clothes, picnic supplies and even stuff for the kitchen. Its a pretty cool idea, and one that works really well with another new years tradition: money envelopes.

I guess its okay that they don't have Christmas, because they have this tradition instead. On New Years day, parents give their children, under the age of 20, envelopes filled with money. From what I've been told, the older you are, the more money you receive. Many of my jr high school students will get $30-$50. The envelopes here are really cute, too. They have many different designs, from flowers, to the animals of the Chinese zodiac, to popular characters like Disney Princesses and Thomas the train engine.

The last tradition that I know about is New Years cards. The idea behind them is similar to Christmas cards. You buy, or make, cards that wish the people in your life good luck in the upcoming year. These cards are such a big deal that the post office guarantees delivery of your cards in time for new years as long as you drop them off by a certain time. The only major difference between these cards and our Christmas cards is that they don't sell them in bulk. Of course, in North America, you can go to almost any store and buy a box of Christmas cards for a few dollars. In Japan, you can buy new years cards from most stores or the post office, but they all go for 50¢ a card. Which can get really expensive really fast. I know the teachers I work with are buying them not only for their friends and family, but also for their homeroom students and students that are in the clubs that they supervise.

Japanese New Years might not be as awesome as Christmas is, but its still really interesting to experience this culture and enjoy their holidays and traditions.