Winter Festivals

Oshogatsu

The one of the most important festivals in Japan, New Year’s Day celebration or the Oshogatsu, is normally a week-long celebration that starts a week before the new year and ends a couple of days after January 1st.

Oshogatsu usually starts with the preparations towards the day of celebration itself. During the week of the New Year’s Eve, cleaning the house thoroughly is done as part of the New Year’s tradition. It is believed that cleaning is part of the purification of one’s environment leading up to the New Year and to have a fresh twelve months. After Osoji, cooking preparations are done for traditional New Year’s meals. The O-sechi ryori and the O-zone are two of the traditional Japanese dishes that are prepared to be served on New Year’s Day.

On New Year’s Day, the delivery of the Nen-Ga-Jyo is made. These are traditional New Year’s Day cards that are equivalent to the Europeans’ Christmas Cards. Giving of money to children is also part of the New Year’s Day tradition. Known as the Otoshi-dama, money is placed in a special envelope that is similar to the Chinese’s “red packet” envelope and is given by close relatives to children.

From New Year’s Eve to the first week of the New Year it is also a custom for Japanese to visit temples and dispose the previous year’s charms and purchase new ones. It is also during their visit that they make their wishes for the New Year.

Sapporo’s Snow Festival (Yuki Matsuri)

Sometime in mid-February, this 7-day long festival is celebrated by having snow statues and ice sculptures in the streets of Sapporo City. These sculptures vary from famous Japanese landmarks to other foreign architectural replicas. Considered to be one of the largest events in Japan, the Yuki Matsuri is flocked by millions of people, local and foreign, every year to take part in this special event.