The day after Christmas, all those Christmas decorations come down and the New Year's decorations go up. People are busy getting ready for the new year--cleaning their houses completely, cooking all the special New Year's foods.

The New Year is a family holiday here. Most people go back to their hometowns. On New Year's Eve, there are no wild parties; instead people stay home and eat soba noodles (which are supposed to give you a long life). At midnight, many people go to a temple to ring the temple bell and pray for good luck. You can drink special sake there for health and good luck.

Then the next day, most people go to a shrine to pray for good luck and buy good luck charms. Masashi and I usually go to a shrine near our house on January 1st, and then a few days later, we go to Meiji Shrine. At the left, ou can see me dressed in kimono for the trip.

Originally, I think, Shogatsu was a lunar holiday, like the Chinese New Year, but when Japan adopted the western calendar, it was moved to the beginning of January. Unlike New Year's in the U.S. (where people celebrate New Year's Eve and New Year's Day only), Shogatsu in Japan lasts several days. Schools are usually closed until January 7th or 8th.

In the photos on this page, you can see just a few aspects of the celebrations.

Food

Of course, there are lots of special dishes associated with Shogatsu.

Right: Yumiko and Marina are making "O-Seichi-Ryori, " the food eaten on the first few days of the new year. Most of the Seichi dishes are made ahead of time and put into special boxes and plates. Because the dishes have to keep for a few days back before there was refrigeration, they are almost all sweet and/or salty.

I don't know how to make most of these dishes, so if Masashi and I don't visit his family for Shogatsu, we just buy Seichi buy at the department store.

Right: Ozoni, a simple soup with a light taste. It's really refreshing after all the sweet Seichi, and it's so easy that even I can make it. Each family has it's own version, however, and I've heard that arguments sometimes break out among newlyweds over the "right" way to make it.

Praying for Luck

Except for Masashi's mother, Masashi's family is not very religious. But at Shogatsu, everyone prays for good luck for the coming year.

Above: Masashi praying at the Butsudan. You can see a photo of his aunt, who died a few years ago, along with flowers and fruit as offerings to the dead.

Left: Lottery tickets placed on the Butsudan for good luck. (They didn't win...)

Although the Butsudan gets a lot of attention (Masashi's mother prays regularly, and visiting relatives often pray there too), I've only seem people put offerings on the Kamidana at Shogatsu. Here you can see offerings of rice cakes topped with a small mikan orange. The bottle contains sake.

Right: Hideyuki and Shintaro are praying, clapping their hands first to get the attention of the gods.

Hatsumode

Right: Masashi is getting "omikuji", a piece of paper with his "fortune" for the year. While the omikuji at many shrines just give information about your luck in love, money, study, etc., the omikuji at Meiji Shrine give advice about how to live in the coming year. My omikuji for 2003 told be to be careful about what I say, that I could mess things up by saying too much or speaking without thinking.

Right: Sometimes I do Hatsumode with my friend Mrs. Tsutsumi. She loves kimono, and helps me get dressed up in mine. (I can't put it on by myself.)