new-years-day – FAQ Japan

2018 is coming to a close, and maybe youll be drinking, eating, dancing or relaxing the year away. So, this our top 10 New Year Japanese Words for 2019.nYou may also be interested in our other year-end posts including Japanese Buzzwords of 2018, Kanji of the year and our Christmas vocabulary list.nIf youre interested in our FAQs Section, you can check our Life in Japan FAQ or our Exploring Japan FAQ.nnnnnTop 10 New Year Japanese Words:n1. n ( or Oshougatsu) refers to the new year period at the calendar year-end. More specifically, it means the festival that occurs on the first couple days of January. At this time, most businesses close, and people take a break from their stressful jobs. Japanese people mostly spend this time with their families, generally heading back to their hometown. There they will spend time celebrating together, saying farewell to the year-end and welcoming in a fresh new 365 days.n2. n ( or Toshikoshi) literally translates into New Years Eve, the 31st of December each year.nnOn the 31st of December, it is common for many to enjoy ( or Toshi Koshi Soba) basically means New Years Eve Japanese buckwheat noodles. This allows people to farewell any of the negativity and grudges held from the previous year. So, they do this by making soba their last meal, a symbol of saying Sayonara to their past grievances.n3. nOn ( or Gantan) or the 1st of January, the following day, families will then welcome in the new year with a variety of activities. In Japan, there are a lot of cultural traditions that continue over the New Year period, which we have listed in this post.n4. n ( or Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu) is the same greeting as Happy New Year . Additionally, you can use other abbreviations like (Akemashite Omedetou) or the casual (Ake Ome). The casual greeting is more popular between friends or family.nn5. nThe New Years meal of ( or Osechi), is a variety of meals (such as seafood, vegetables, rice cakes and more). They are typically packed in special boxes, similar to ( or Obento) meaning lunch boxes. The meals generally represent peoples hope of blessings, good fortune and long health. However, there are many kinds of meals that people eat on this day, which have a variety of different meanings.n6. or n or ( or inoshishi doshi) literally means the Year of the Pig and is this years 2019 representative of the Zodiac calendar. However, Inoshishi in Japanese actually means boar, representative of the wild pigs you can find in the Japanese wilderness.nnIn any case, the Zodiac calendar has a regular cycle and rotates every 12 years. It starts from February in the current year to February the following year. People who fall into the year of the pig are born in a range of years. These include 1923-24, 1935-36, 1947-48, 1959-60, 1971-72, 1983-84, 1995-96, 2007-8, 2019-20, 2031-32, etc.nAccording to Chinese Zodiac horoscopes (and we treat this as pure speculation), those who were born in the Year of the Pig could be in for a rollercoaster ride in 2019. On the plus side, you will find support and encouragement from your colleagues. Furthermore, single females may also have the chance to a fresh new relationship. However, in terms of wealth your luck appears to be regarded as relatively low to fair. Despite this, we hope everyone has a bright and successful start in January 2019!n7. n ( or Hatsumoude) refers to a persons first visit to either a ( or Otera) meaning Temple or ( or Jinjya) meaning Shrine. On one of the first few days in January, many visit a temple or shrine. As the Japanese tradition goes, they visit these sacred places of worship to pray for good fortune and health throughout the year. People usually make a small coin donation too, for example, typically 5 yen coins.nnFive yen is commonly used as a donation due to its connection to fortune. ( or Go en), which is the word for 5 yen, shares the same word as ( or Go en), which means fate or chance. Thus, 5 yen is broadly seen as a good luck charm or symbol.nAfter following a few simple steps, people pray to the gods in hope of having their wishes granted.n8. n ( or Shinnen Houfu) is literally translated into New Years Resolution. Across many cultures, people use the new year as an opportunity to make some kind of improvement or positive change in their life. Naturally, the biggest difficulty with making any significant change is sticking to it. If you can truly maintain your motivation then hopefully you can also make a positive long-term improvement. Best of luck!nn9. n ( or Shinnenkai) is the term used to describe New Year Parties. These are quite popular events in Japan, especially in the corporate world. They generally occur in January of each year and are designed to welcome in the new year with colleagues or even new or existing contacts. They are very similar to ( or bounenkai) which are End of Year Parties that occur in December.nn10. n( or Otoshi Dama) is the Japanese custom occurring on January 1, New Years Day. On this day, parents will give money to their children. The gift is usually presented to each child in a brightly decorated or red coloured envelope. The amount of money the parents give usually depends on the age of the child. Yet, it is not uncommon to see amounts of 10,000 yen or more handed out. Hopefully, you too were also lucky enough to get some kind of financial reward (as pictured below).nnTo all our new and existing readers, Happy New Year for 2019 from FAQ. We hope you all have a prosperous and exciting year ahead. Further, we hope the top 10 New Year Japanese Words for 2019 will make it more meaningful.nIf youre planning your travels in Japan, we invite you to join our rapidly expanding Travel in Japan Discussion Group via Facebook.nYou can also catch up on all our latest articles and photos via our Facebook and Instagram pages.