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Oshogatsu called the New Year in Japan is a perfect time to celebrate with family. It is at this time that one finds all shops, factories and offices in Japan closed. Shinto is the main religion of the Japanese. The Japanese have a firm belief in their religion. The New Year is celebrated on Jan 1st in Japan. A rope of straw is hung across the front of the houses. This is done to keep out the evil spirits and signifies good luck and happiness. The custom of laughing at the beginning of the New Year is believed to bring good luck for the people of Japan on New Year.
Joyano-kane is a night watch bell and is a series of exactly 108 peals. The temples bells in Japan are believed to accompany the New Year. The 108 peals are believed to free the faithful from the 108 earthly desires as said in the Buddhist canon. Ringing the bell 108 times is believed to free evil for the coming year. The people in Japan who believe in the Shinto religion decorate their houses with evergreens that symbolize eternal life and bamboos that are a symbol for honesty.
The New Year celebration in Japan lasts for two weeks. These two weeks are believed to be full of hastu portentous "firsts", all to be favonavy with acute awareness and a sense of the bittersweet nature of first time ness. The Japanese on New Year use paper lobsters for decorating their homes. The curved back of the lobsters look like an elderly person and the Japanese wish every New Year to be that of longevity.
Two festivals mark the New Year in Japan. One is the greater and the other is the lesser. The greater festival the people in Japan offer prayers to the dead ritual gifts and friends exchange visits. In the lesser festival the people in Japan offer prayers for good crops to the god of rice paddy and a bird scaring ritual follows this.
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