Japanese New Year Symbols

With celebrations extending until january 3rd new year in japan is largely a quiet solemn family affair.

Japanese new year symbols. History says until 1873 during the meiji era 1868 1912 celebration of the japanese new year was based on the chinese lunar calendar. The first day of january became the official new year s day since five years after the meiji restoration. Since 1873 the official japanese new year has been celebrated according to the gregorian calendar on january 1 of each year new year s day 元日 ganjitsu however some traditional events of the japanese new year are partially celebrated on the first day of the year on the modern tenpō calendar the.

Due to its expense and association with wealth seafood is the star of japanese new year fare. Japanese new year oshōgatsu お正月 has come and gone and we re now in the year 2020 but i took a photos around the house to show the kinds of symbols and accoutrements you ll see this time of year the first one is a kadomatsu 門松. Daidai also means generation to generation and symbolizes the continuance of the family line.

Ise ebi or the spiny lobster lives as long as 20 years making it a natural symbol for longevity. On top of the two mochi cakes is a daidai a bitter japanese orange. Kagamimochi displays of two pounded rice cakes with a small orange on top symbolizing prosperity are often seen inside japanese homes at the start of the new year celebrated in.

Kagami mochi have several symbolic meanings. Its long trailing whiskers grow. On new year s the red and white kamaboko are symbols of q384223 or the new year s sunrise.

The traditional winter holiday for the japanese is oshogatsu literally first month or new year. Japanese new year celebrations are quite different from typical western ones. Unlike chinese korean or vietnamese new year japanese celebrate their new year on january 1.

Another example that i found quite interesting thanks kana is that the shrimp ebi symbolizes having a long mustache or beard which indirectly symbolizes old age or a long life. Prime varieties like spiny lobster and prawns are the focal point of the traditional serving vessel the jūbako box.