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Committee on Multicultural Initiatives and
Diversity - COMID The
mission of the Committee on Multicultural Initiatives and
Diversity (COMID) is to foster our community and
environment where the richness of our diversity is
recognized, respected and embraced. Our view on diversity
includes, but is not limited to, ethnic, racial and
linguistic heritage; religious traditions; gender; sexual
orientation; age; and socioeconomic status.
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JAPANESE NEW YEAR
New Year (shogatsu or oshogatsu) is the
most important holiday in Japan. Most businesses shut down
from January 1 to January 3, and families typically gather
to spend the days together.
Years are traditionally viewed as completely separate,
with each new year providing a fresh start. Consequently,
all duties are supposed to be completed by the end of the
year, while bonenkai parties ("year forgetting parties") are
held with the purpose of leaving the old year's worries and
troubles behind.
Homes and entrance gates are decorated with ornaments
made of pine, bamboo and plum trees, and clothes and houses
are cleaned.
On New Year's eve, toshikoshi soba (buckwheat noodles),
symbolizing longevity, are served. A more recent custom is
watching the music show "kohaku uta gassen", a highly
popular television program featuring many of Japan's most
famous
J-pop and enka singers in spectacular performances.
January 1 is a very auspicious day, best started by
viewing the new year's first sunrise (hatsu-hinode), and
traditionally believed to be representative for the whole
year that has just commenced. Therefore, the day is supposed
be full of joy and free of stress and anger, while
everything should be clean and no work should be done.
It is a tradition to visit a shrine or temple during
shogatsu (hatsumode). The most popular temples and shrines,
such as Tokyo's
Meiji Shrine, attract several million people during the
three days. Most impressive are such visits at the actual
turn of the year, when large temple bells are rung at
midnight.
Various kinds of special dishes are served during
shogatsu. They include osechi ryori, otoso (sweetened rice
wine) and ozoni (a soup with mochi).
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Osechi Ryori
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Toshikoshi Soba
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There are also a few games traditionally played on New
Year, however, their popularity has decreased in recent
times. Hanetsuki (Japanese badminton), takoage (kite
flying), and karuta (a card game) are some of them.
A very popular custom is the sending of New Year's cards,
which are specially marked to be delivered on January 1. It
is not uncommon for one person to send out several dozens of
cards to friends, relatives and co-workers.
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