When people refer to お正月, they mean the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of January, an auspicious period of public holidays that's also known as 三が日 (さんがにち - sanganichi - "3 days"). During this time, it's customary to head out to a local shrine or temple for what's called 初詣 (はつもうで - Hatsumoude), the first shrine visit of the year. This can be done at any time throughout the お正月 period, but many people head in early for New Year's Eve and stay beyond the countdown. The point of this is to pray for good luck in the new year and often to buy おみくじ (omikuji - fortunes) to see what's in store.
Generally these predict several different "levels" of luck from 大吉 (だいきち - daikichi - excellent luck) all the way down to 大凶 (だいきょう - daikyou - terrible luck). As I mentioned earlier, bad luck omens are tied to trees or racks and left on the shrine grounds to try and stop them coming true; any others you can take with you. Some, like those in the photo above, are based on your birth date - simply choose the right day out of the 365 available and see what you can expect.
While you're there, お酒 (おさけ - osake - sake) is often provided and even minors are permitted the odd sip for the occasion. As midnight approaches, if the temple has a bell it will toll it 108 times in what's known as 除夜の鐘 (じょやのかね - joya no kane - "New Year's Eve Bell"); the tolls are supposed to rid the listeners of each of the 108 temptations according to Buddhism. The festivities continue long into the night - during お正月, late nights and long sleep-ins are the norm.
For most families though, the preparation for this nice lazy お正月 starts a few days earlier with what's known as お節料理 (おせちりょうり - osechi ryouri - New Year dishes). If you cast your mind back, you may notice that the "節" 漢字 (かんじ - kanji) is the same as that of 節分 (せつぶん - Setsubun); in both cases it indicates a division, whether it's between seasons or years. To commemorate this division, food is prepared and eaten that's unique to the お正月 period. It's notoriously time-consuming and difficult to make which is why it needs to be organised ahead of time. In fact, there's an obligation to make sure it's all done well before the New Year - January 1st is intended to be a day everyone can relax rather than being stuck in the kitchen. It's also customary to clean the house from top to tail and pay off any debts in the dying days of the old year, so that you can start the new one fresh materially and mentally. While they're at it, a lot of families decorate their houses with 注連飾り (しめかざり - shime kazari - straw ornaments) in the leadup to お正月.
As you might expect from all this hard work, time constraints mean a lot of families now buy pre-made お節料理 from スーパー (suupaa - supermarkets) and デパート (depaato - department stores). Invariably it's made with extremely high quality ingredients, so this isn't a particularly cheap way to do it; I'm told people who order it in the shops can expect to pay up to twenty thousand yen (about $240) for some of the more luxurious dishes. Given that, it's hardly surprising that bigger families tend to get together and make everything themselves to save money. Entire magazines and cookbooks like the one above are dedicated to this process.
Each of the rather indulgent items that make up お節料理 have an auspicious meaning, most of which revolve around prosperity, longevity and happiness; I'm not sure how seriously these meanings are taken these days, but in the hardship of ancient times they would have been taken in absolute earnest. Lobster, for example is traditionally seen as a symbol of longevity due to a lobster's appearance of a long beard. 昆布 (こぶ - kobu - dried kelp) is associated with happiness through a play on words of sorts - it's associated with the word "喜ぶ" (よろこぶ - yorokobu), which means to rejoice or be glad. Tangerines are served with leaves still attached to the top of them, to symbolise new life and birth; similarly, 数の子 (かずのこ - kazunoko - herring roe) is seen as a symbol of having many children. Several of these things are placed on top of a three-tiered rice cake on a stand called お鏡餅 (おかがみもち - okagamimochi - literally "mirror rice cake"), which is in itself seen as a symbol of prosperity and happiness.
On New Year's Day, the head of the household commemorates the first meal of the year by writing each person's name on the paper sleeve of their special お正月 端 (はし - hashi - chopsticks), then everyone digs in. The bulk of お節料理 is served in 重箱 (じゅうばこ - juubako - multi-tiered boxes) that make it look a bit like very nicely arranged 駅弁 (えきべん - ekiben - train station lunchboxes). A big selection of ingredients are included in each, but they are separated into distinct tiers - one may revolve around beans, for example, another might be made up of fish or 蒲鉾 (かまぼこ - kamaboko - fish cakes). What really makes お節料理 so special though, is that it's only eaten on New Year's Day. Part of the reason for this might be practicality - aside from the cost and effort involved, the food would have spoiled quickly in the days before refrigeration and so everything would have to have been eaten up.
Throughout the next few days comes what must be the children's favourite part of the festivities - お年玉 (おとしだま - otoshidama - New Year's Gifts). These are monetary gifts placed in decorative envelopes and given to young relatives, which I'm told range from one to two thousand yen (about $12-$25) for small children, up to five to ten thousand yen ($60-$120) for high schoolers. Apparently, as soon as you begin working you're considered a provider and are expected to give お年玉 rather than receiving them - it may be best to do some quick arithmetic before you start sending out resumes.
Once all the celebration of お正月 has run its course, I'm told you get a bit sick of all the rich food to the extent that on the 7th day of January, it's customary to eat what's known as 七草粥 (ななくさがゆ - nanakusagayu - "7 herb gruel"). This is a delicious but very modest rice porridge that marks the end of the indulgence of お正月 and a welcome return to the usual routine. A week later on the 15th, families take their 注連飾り down, burn them at a nearby shrine and place the ashes outside their houses to keep evil spirits away; this is known as どんと焼き (donto yaki). Similarly, any お守り (おまもり - omamori - charms) that have been protecting your family over the year can be burned and replaced with fresh ones.
Cleansed, purged and protected, you're now ready to face the new year. You may be kicking off in an even luckier position as well, depending on your first dream of 2011. There's a Japanese saying that says "一富士、ニ鷹、三茄子" (いちふじ、にたか、さんなすび - ichi fuji, ni taka, san nasubi - "first Mount Fuji, second a hawk, third an eggplant"). Dreaming of any of these three is considered very fortunate; if you dream of all of them you must have had a more interesting New Year's Eve than I did.
Today's 初詣 photos were taken by Len - more of his Japan photography can be seen here.
Cleaning the house from top to bottom and having everything in good order before New Year's Eve is also customary in Scotland.
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