![]() In Japanese, New Year’s Eve is known as 大晦日 ( Ōmisoka). (New Year’s Eve fireworks display over Tokyo Bay. Today, there are still traces of Japan’s Lunar New Year celebrations, if you know where to look. Eventually, however, the lunisolar calendar faded completely from daily life in Japan. Initially, opposition to the change was strong, and many people continued to celebrate the Lunar New Year well into the 1900s, especially in rural areas. ![]() Some people put up the kadomatsu on the second day of the Twelfth Month and some didn’t put it up at all…” According to writer Asano Baidō (1816-1880), “There was no time to make year-end rice cakes, so one had to buy New Year rice cakes at the rice cake shop. The decree abolishing the lunisolar calendar was issued so suddenly that the general public was left scrambling to get ready for the New Year. ![]() (Men pound glutinous rice flour into mochi, a traditional food eaten during the New Year. Today, Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam all use similar systems. In contrast, China adopted a dual-calendar policy in 1912, whereby the Gregorian calendar was used for everything except setting traditional holidays, which were timed according to the Chinese lunisolar calendar. Thus, Ganjitsu, the first day of the lunisolar calendar year, fell on January 1, the first day of the Gregorian calendar year, creating a one month delay between Japan’s New Year’s celebrations and those of its neighbors like China and Korea. ![]() At that time, the prevailing attitude among many Japanese elites was that Asian practices were inferior to Western ones, and would hold Japan back unless they were abandoned.īut when the Meiji government decided to adopt the Gregorian calendar, they simply superimposed lunisolar calendar events onto the new calendar instead of properly converting the dates. In 1873, as part of the Meiji Restoration, Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar to bring the country in line with the West. Prior to that, Japan shared its New Year’s Day with China, Korea, and Vietnam, celebrating on the second new moon following the winter solstice. The Chinese lunisolar calendar was introduced to Japan in the sixth century CE, and it was the principal method of timekeeping in Japan until 1873. (A visit to a local temple on New Year’s Day. So why doesn’t Japan celebrate the Lunar New Year along with its neighbors? Japan Used to Celebrate the Lunar New Year This major holiday is known by many names (the Spring Festival in Chinese, Seollal in Korean, Tsaagan Sar in Mongolian, Tết in Vietnamese) and is observed in some shape or form by Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, Vietnam, and Mongolia-not to mention the Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese diasporas worldwide. Japan is one of the few countries in East Asia that doesn’t celebrate the Lunar New Year, one of the world’s largest celebrations. By the time Japan’s neighbors in Asia begin their own New Year’s celebrations in late January or February, the festivities in Japan are long over. Many businesses close for several days while families and friends gather to ring in the New Year on January 1. Preparation for New Year’s Day (元日 Ganjitsu) begins weeks before, as people rush to clean and decorate the house, prepare special foods, throw parties, and write greeting cards. ![]() The New Year (お正月 Oshōgatsu) is the most celebrated holiday in Japan. ![]()
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