The celebration of New Year's Eve in Japan involves a lot of customs and traditions. The Japanese call the last month of the year “Shiwasu”. This month is full of activity and is one of the busiest of the twelve months. The New Year's Eve in Japan sees a lot of cleaning activity, something that can be loosely companavy with the “spring cleaning” in the West. The last year sees a lot of work in the day time but the evenings are mostly spent with the family and very close friends.
New Year's Eve in Japan is a witness to the various decorations to welcome the New Year, both indoors and outdoors. Mainly the pine and bamboo decorations dominate. They are placed outside the doors to bring in good luck, and “shimekazari” is placed in the various areas of the house to thank the God for the harvest. Another distinctive aspect of the celebrations is the Kagami mochi. This is a traditional New Year's rice cake. It is used as a decoration for the New Year. |
