{"id":4856,"date":"2025-01-15T08:40:12","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T08:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mobalpay.com\/blog\/?p=4856"},"modified":"2025-05-27T15:14:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T06:14:58","slug":"how-our-japanese-staff-celebrate-the-new-year-a-typical-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mobalpay.com\/blog\/how-our-japanese-staff-celebrate-the-new-year-a-typical-day\/","title":{"rendered":"How Our Japanese Staff Celebrate the New Year: A Typical Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we begin a new year, many people in Japan follow time-honoured traditions that bring family and friends together to celebrate. From watching the first sunrise to enjoying a festive meal and praying for good fortune, the New Year is filled with special customs. Here\u2019s a look at how one of our Japanese staff spends this special time of year.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Contents:<\/h3>\n

1. Watching the First Sunrise of the Year<\/a>
\n2. New Year\u2019s Greetings and Traditional Meals<\/a>
\n3. Hatsumode: The First Shrine Visit of the Year<\/a>
\n4. Family Dinner<\/a>
\n5. Wishing You a Happy and Prosperous New Year<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

6:50 AM \u2013 Watching the First Sunrise of the Year<\/h4>\n

To start the New Year, I climb a nearby mountain to catch the first sunrise, known as “hatsu hinode.” It’s a tradition in Japan to see the first sunrise as it\u2019s believed to bring good fortune for the year ahead.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

8:00 AM \u2013 New Year\u2019s Greetings and Traditional Meals<\/h4>\n

Around 8:00 AM, my family gathers to greet each other with \u201cAkemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu\u201d (Happy New Year!). We enjoy a festive meal featuring osechi, a traditional Japanese New Year\u2019s food. Osechi varies by family and region, but it always includes symbolic dishes for prosperity, happiness, and longevity. Our family had “sashimi”.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

3:00 PM \u2013 Hatsumode: The First Shrine Visit of the Year<\/h4>\n

In the afternoon, we head to a local shrine for “hatsumode,” the first shrine visit of the year. People visit shrines to pray for good health and success in the coming year.<\/p>\n

Omikuji: A Fortune-Telling Tradition<\/strong> At the shrine, I draw “omikuji,” a paper fortune that predicts my luck for the year. I got “chukichi” (middle luck), which is a nice balance between good and bad luck. Omikuji fortunes range from “daikichi” (great luck) to “kyo” (bad luck), and many people take them seriously, adjusting their plans accordingly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rank<\/th>\nOmikuji Result<\/th>\nMeaning\/Description<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
1<\/td>\nDaikichi (Great Blessing)<\/td>\nThe best fortune. Everything will go smoothly, and happiness is on its way.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nCh\u016bkichi (Middle Blessing)<\/td>\nThe second-best fortune. Continued good luck is likely.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nSh\u014dkichi (Small Blessing)<\/td>\nA small but positive fortune. Success may come with effort.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nKichi (Blessing)<\/td>\nA favorable fortune. Happiness is near but requires hard work.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nSuekichi (Future Blessing)<\/td>\nGood fortune will come in the future. Patience and perseverance are key.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\nHankichi (Half Blessing)<\/td>\nA modest amount of luck. Careful actions can improve your situation.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\nKy\u014d (Curse)<\/td>\nAn unfavorable fortune. It\u2019s important to act cautiously.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\nDaiky\u014d (Great Curse)<\/td>\nThe worst fortune. Hardships and challenges are expected; vigilance is needed.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The order and types of omikuji may vary depending on the shrine or temple, but this is a common example.<\/p>\n

Buying Omamori: Protection for the Year<\/strong> I also purchase an “omamori,” a protective amulet, at the shrine. Omamori are believed to bring protection and blessings for specific purposes, like health, studies, or travel.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

6:30PM \u2013 Family Dinner<\/h4>\n

Finally, in the evening, my family and I gather around the table to enjoy a warm and hearty dinner. This year, we had sukiyaki, a delicious hot pot dish with beef, vegetables, and tofu.<\/p>\n

Wishing You a Happy and Prosperous New Year<\/h4>\n

Celebrating the New Year in Japan is a meaningful time to connect with family and reflect on the year ahead. We hope this glimpse into our New Year\u2019s traditions brings you closer to understanding the beauty of Japanese culture. We wish you all the best in 2025!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we begin a new year, many people in Japan follow time-honoured traditions that bring family and friends together to celebrate. From watching the first sunrise to enjoying a festive meal and praying for good fortune, the New Year is filled with special customs. Here\u2019s a look at how one of our Japanese staff spends […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Our Japanese Staff Celebrate the New Year: A Typical Day - MobalPay<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mobalpay.com\/blog\/how-our-japanese-staff-celebrate-the-new-year-a-typical-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Our Japanese Staff Celebrate the New Year: A Typical Day - MobalPay\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As we begin a new year, many people in Japan follow time-honoured traditions that bring family and friends together to celebrate. 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Here\u2019s a look at how one of our Japanese staff spends…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mobalpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mobalpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mobalpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobalpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobalpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4856"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobalpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4905,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobalpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4856\/revisions\/4905"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobalpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mobalpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobalpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mobalpay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}