Soon after Christmas, Japanese people start preparing for the year-end and New Year’s events. Compared to Christmas, many of these events are based on Japanese tradition and are deeply related to religion.
However, for most Japanese people, it seems to be regarded as a custom rather than a religious act. Relatives come together to celebrate the New Year.
In December, end-of-year parties are organized in most workplaces.The end-of-year party is called “bonenkai” in Japanese. “Bonen” means to forget (the worries of) the past year.Many of the Japanese companies start their end-of-year holidays from around the 28th of December. The end-of-year holidays in Japan are usually about a week or less.
People are busy with events on New Year’s Eve.New Year’s Eve is called “Oomisoka” in Japanese.We eat soba noodles called “toshikoshi soba” (year-crossing soba) to wish for a long lasting life.
