Japanese new year customs I miss the most


osechiHappy New Year everyone! あけましておめでとうございます。

I cannot believe that year 2015 flew by so quickly and we are already starting the new year 2016. I truly wish all the happiness, success and joy for all of us. Thank you so much for your support as always.

Last year I was able to visit my family in Japan in November. I was quite fortunate. But I had to leave before the end of November for work so again I didn’t get to celebrate the traditional Japanese new year with my family.

New Year is the most important celebration of the year in Japan. In the U.S., I used to party with my girlfriends but these years, we haven’t done much. We typically celebrate the New Year’s Eve at home. It is actually nice but then I miss my family traditions we used to do every year on the New Year Eve and the New Year.

The customs of Japanese new year celebration that I miss the most.

  1. Osechi Ryouri: I wrote about this recently, but Japanese family cooks together and make beautiful osechi dishes for the actual January 1st. You can say that the custom to eat osechi is similar to American people ordering or making turkey on Thanksgiving Day.
  2.  Otoshidama : This was the most favorite part of New Year celebration as a child. I sill miss the expectations and anxieties that I had the night before the New Year (January 1) as everyone (adults) gave us money!! Now it is time for me to give some money to my cousins’s children. This gives children in Japan the opportunity to buy something small and save the rest.
  3. Getting Drunk: I wouldn’t say I miss this because I can do that here in the U.S. too but I miss going out with my Japanese friends and sisters to celebrate the New Year’s countdown. It was quite fun.
  4. Amazake: This literally means sweet sake, and I love it so much. My mom didn’t make it but we always went to the local temple to pray for the good year and then monks gave us the sweet sake. It’s made of rice and it is really delicious!
  5. Mochi making-When my Japanese grandparents were alive, they actually made mochi from scratch. Now that my grandfather is gone and my grandmother is too old to do that, the family tradition is gone but I miss helping them and tasting the homemade mochi. It was very delicious.

 

 

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