The New Year is always an important holiday in Japan and other East Asian nations. Christmas is celebrated in Japan in much the same way it is in the West, but “New Years” is by far the more significant holiday. Before the Meiji Restoration, the New Year was celebrated according to the Chinese lunar calendar (January 23 for the year 2012). These days, though the calendar still has great influence on festivals and celebrations, the Gregorian calendar change is celebrated by most people as the “official” New Year.
In Japan, people busily prepare for the New Year by cleaning house and buying/cooking food (osechi) to welcome the “god of new life”. At this time, the Post Office is flooded by New Years’ cards which each person sends to friends, relatives, and associates. Rail and air terminals are jammed with people trying to get back to their home towns to spend the New Year’s “night” and “daybreak” with their relatives.
Japanese express wishes for the New Year by saying “Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu!” (pronounced ah-keh-mah-shteh oh-meh-deh-toe go-zah-ee-mahss). Only one Kanji (Chinese character) is found in this phrase (within the first word). This Kanji is a combination of the characters for sun and moon, and among other ancient meanings, it has to do with the sun and the moon getting together and becoming “bright”. It entails “changing” and “opening”… “dawning”…
Posted by Den 
