—or —is a Japanese traditional celebration on the last day of the year. Traditionally, it was held on the final day of the 12th lunar month. With Japan's switch to using the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

at the beginning of the

Meiji era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization b ...

, December 31 (

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

) is now used for the celebration.

Origins

Etymology

The last day of each month of the Japanese

lunisolar calendar A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, combining lunar calendars and solar calendars. The date of Lunisolar calendars therefore indicates both the Moon phase and the time of the solar year, that is the position of the Sun in the Ea ...

was historically named . Originally, "miso" was written as 三十, indicating the 30th day, though ''misoka'' sometimes fell on the 29th due to the varying lengths of the lunar month. The last day in the 12th lunar month is called —with the 大 indicating it is the final last day of the month for that year—or the "great thirtieth day". As part of the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, Japan switched to the

in 1873, and ''ōmisoka'' was set as December 31, or

. The day is also known by the archaic pronunciation of . This is a shortened version of , meaning "last day of the month".

Activities

Traditionally, important activities for the concluding year and day were completed in order to start the new year fresh. Some of these include house cleaning, repaying debts, purification (such as driving out evil spirits and bad luck), and bathing so the final hours of the year could be spent relaxing. Recently, families and friends often gather for parties, including the viewing of the over four-hour on

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

, or more recently to watch large

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

cards. This custom has its roots in the ancient Japanese culture surrounding or , which revolved around the practice of showing reverence toward the gods of the current and upcoming years. About an hour before the New Year, people often gather together for one last time in the old year to have a bowl of ''

toshikoshi soba is a traditional Japanese noodle bowl dish eaten on ōmisoka (New Year's Eve, 31 December).Bill Daley"New Year's Eve noodles: A savory end to the old year" Chicago Tribune This custom lets go of hardship of the year because soba noodles are ea ...

'' or ''toshikoshi

udon Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...

'' together—a tradition based on people's association of eating the long noodles with "crossing over from one year to the next", which is the meaning of ''toshi-koshi''. While the noodles are often eaten plain, or with chopped

scallion Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, ch ...

s, in some localities people top them with

tempura is a typical Japanese dish usually consisting of seafood, meat and vegetables that have been battered and deep fried. The dish was introduced by the Portuguese in Nagasaki through fritter-cooking techniques in the 16th century. The word ''tem ...

. Traditionally, families make

osechi Osechi-ryōri (御節料理, お節料理 or おせち) are traditional Japanese New Year foods. The tradition started in the Heian period (794–1185). ''Osechi'' are easily recognizable by their special boxes called '' jūbako'' (重箱), whi ...

on the last few days of the year. The food is then consumed during the first several days of the new year in order to " elcomethe 'deity of the year' to each household" and "

ish Ish may refer to: *Ish (name) also ancient Hebrew word for Man at Genesis 2:23, also Ish-shah for Woman *Chazon Ish, sobriquet of Rabbi Avraham Yeshayahu Karelitz *the Sanskrit for "lord", see Ishvara * ''...ish'' (audio drama), Doctor Who audio d ...

for happiness throughout the year". At midnight, many visit a

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

for ''

Hatsumōde is the first Buddhist temples in Japan, Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine visit of the Japanese New Year. Many visit on the first, second, or third day of the year as most are off work on those days. Generally, wishes for the new year are made, n ...

'', or the first shrine/temple visit of the year. Throughout Japan,

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

s prepare ''

amazake is a traditional sweet, low-alcohol or non-alcoholic Japanese drink made from fermented rice. ''Amazake'' dates from the Kofun period, and it is mentioned in the Nihon Shoki. It is part of the family of traditional Japanese foods made usin ...

'' to pass out to crowds that gather as midnight approaches. Most

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...

s have a large

bonshō , also known as or are large bells found in Buddhist temples throughout Japan, used to summon the monks to prayer and to demarcate periods of time. Rather than containing a clapper, are struck from the outside, using either a handheld mall ...

(Buddhist bell) that is struck once for each of the 108 earthly temptations believed to cause human suffering. When seeing someone for the last time before the new year, it is traditional to say . The traditional first greeting after the beginning of the New Year is . This celebration is the equivalent of

in the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

, and coincides with

Saint Sylvester's Day Saint Sylvester's Day, also known as Silvester or the Feast of Saint Sylvester, is the day of the feast of Pope Sylvester I, a saint who served as Pope from 314 to 335. Medieval legend made him responsible for the conversion of emperor Constanti ...

celebrated by some

Western Christian churches Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic C ...

References

External links

* *
Ushering in the New Year
Kids Web Japan {{DEFAULTSORT:Omisoka Winter festivals in Japan December observances Buddhist holidays Buddhist festivals in Japan

Origins

Etymology

Activities

See also

References

External links