Japanese New Year's eve

New Year's eve is a very special day for Japanese. People polish up their entire house and do a big grocery shopping. Let me list up the things Japanese have to do before celebrating the New Year.


1. Prepare New years cards (Nangajo) and post them before 12/25. (It will be arrive at Jan 1st.)

2. Clean up the entire house. (wipe windows and doors, clean the bath room, toilet and kitchen including the kitchen fan, polish the floor, change the Fusuma and Shoji (Japanese sliding doors) paper and so on)

2. Decorate the doors, cars, bicycles, toilets, Kitchen with the traditional New Year ornaments.

3. Go grocery shopping to prepare special traditional New Year food (Osechi).

4. Eat soba noodles (Toshikoshi soba) for dinner.

5. Have a bath and wear new underwear.

6. Go to temples to ring or listen the bell to say good bye the previous year.

7. Go to a shrine to pray for their family's health and fortune in New Year. (This is after count down.)