From time immemorial, the life of the Japanese has been filled with rituals and traditions, many of which have a connection with all months of the year. New Year is a holiday, very beloved by the Japanese, is an enchanting and colorful event. Holidays begin on December 28th and continue until January 4th. At this time, all matters fade into the background. Initially, the festival was celebrated according to the lunar calendar, and only by the end of the 19th century it was postponed with the transition to the Gregorian calendar.
They start preparing for it in advance. At New Year's bazaars, you can buy anything: clothes, souvenirs, ritual accessories - dull arrows with white plumage are designed to protect the house from misfortune and demonic forces, boats with rice, other "values" and seven deities that bestow good luck, bamboo rakes - a talisman that is incredibly in demand, because the Japanese are sure that it helps to “rake in” well-being. In stores, after each purchase, customers are handed a souvenir consecrated by the custom - a figurine of an animal patronizing the coming year.
Daruma dolls are New Year's gif.webpts exchanged between the Japanese for courage. The older the recipient, the larger its size. The doll's eye sockets are empty. Wanting to make a dream come true, the owner must independently draw the pupil in only one eye. The doll is kept in a conspicuous place in the house all year round. If the wish is fulfilled before the New Year, another pupil will be drawn to the doll, but if the envisioned did not come true, it should be taken to the temple and burned there, and then another one should be purchased.
The pine tree at the entrance of the house is one of the most spectacular elements of decor for the coming year; it welcomes the New Year's deity. In the manufacture of this talisman, pine, bamboo and a rope made of rice straw, decorated with fern twigs and tangerines, are used (in some cases, bundles of seaweed and dried shrimps are used). Any of the constituent elements has a certain meaning.
Since ancient times, according to custom, the home has been decorated with bouquets of bamboo or willow twigs, on which cakes of viscous rice are hung, which have different shapes - fruits, flowers, fish. The composition is painted with pink, yellow or green paint, after which it is placed in a conspicuous place, but it can also be hung in front of the entrance, on the ceiling. This is done so that the patron god of the coming year, entering the dwelling, does not forget to do good to the owners.
At midnight, the coming of the New Year, the bells are proclaimed in Buddhist temples. The Buddhist religion says that people are weighed down by 108 pernicious addictions, and the New Year's bells banish every misfortune.
After the final blow, the people leave their homes and greet the coming year with the appearance of the sun. According to beliefs, at this time a ship of seven deities sails: success, truthfulness, benevolence, self-respect, longevity, nobility, benevolence.
The New Year's Eve dinner for the whole family on December 31st is of extreme importance. Stormy conversations and singing songs are excluded - everything happens seriously and sedately, so that nothing distracts from thinking about what everyone should expect in the coming year.
Every Japanese person starts their first New Year's morning by reading greeting cards. The second half of the day is intended for meetings with family, friends and everyone with whom we have spent the past year. In some cases, the visit consists only of leaving your business card on the designated tray.
