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New Year (Shogatsu)

Shogatsu features various traditional events celebrating the beginning of the New Year. The first day of the year is called Ganjitsu. New Year’s customs vary from one part of the country to another and for every family, but in most cases families try to gather to spend the day together. Special dishes for the New Year called “o-setchi ryori” are served and people go out to the local shrine or temple to pay their respects to the gods or buddhas and pray for a good New Year. This is also a time when children are traditionally given presents of cash called “o-toshidama” and people enjoy such games as poem-cards (karuta) and kite flying. The number of children engaging in such traditional games at New Year’s has greatly decreased in recent years.

Related sites
Mini Encyclopedia, Teacher Support Information of Deai
http://www.tjf.or.jp/deai/contents/teacher/te_index.html

Reference site
「JF日本語教育通信」
https://www.jpf.go.jp/j/project/japanese/teach/tsushin/archive/pdf/001/tushin39_p12-13.pdf
「日本文化いろは事典」
http://iroha-japan.net/iroha/A01_event/01_shogatsu.html