New Year
New Year, , is Japan's big family holiday. This lesson gives you the words for the food, the first shrine visit and New Year money, so you can join in, ask how things are done and explain what your own family does. Tap to hear any line. The bar at the bottom plays a hands-free drill for walking.
About this festival
New Year is the biggest family holiday of the year, much as Christmas is in the West. 1 January is a public holiday, and most offices, and some shops, stay closed until the 3rd. Families get together, often at the grandparents' home, and greet each other with あけましておめでとうございます. New Year cards arrive on the morning of the 1st.
The food is おせち: boxes of small cold dishes, each with a meaning (black beans for good health, prawns for a long life), made or ordered ahead so nobody has to cook. Families also eat , a soup with mochi that differs by region and by family.
In the first few days of January most people make their first shrine or temple visit, , to pray for the year, buy a lucky charm and draw a fortune. Children get , money in small envelopes, from parents, grandparents and relatives. Shops reopen with New Year sales and lucky bags, .
25 New Year words
Each card shows a word and a sentence you'd say or hear over New Year, at home, with relatives or at the shrine. Eight reuse words from earlier lessons.
The New Year calendar
From the door decoration in late December to breaking the mochi in mid-January. Customs vary by region and family.
| When | What happens | Word |
|---|
- or ? Both mean New Year's Day. Strictly, is the morning of the 1st; you'll see it on New Year cards.
- You'll hear. あけましておめでとうございます, often followed by , the first time you meet someone in the new year. People say it for the first week or two of January.
- Giving and getting. あげる is give, もらう is get: . Everyday Japanese 4 covers these properly.
Four patterns to use today
Say it in Japanese
Say each one out loud before you reveal the answer. Getting close counts.