L i n k s

Year of the Ox

JAPANESE NEW YEAR/ O-SHOOGATSU

1997 is the Year of the Ox. Methodical leadership will inspire confidence to all. Some famous people that have been born in the Year of the Ox are: Napoleon Bonaparte, Walt Disney, Clark Gable, Richard Nixon, Rosa Parks, Sylvia Porter, Vincent Van Gogh.

In Japan, "shoogatsu" (new year) is the most important holiday of the year, much like Christmas is in the Western hemisphere. Government offices, companies, and schools close for a minimum of three days, and it is the primary time of the year for families to gather together. The Japanese word for January, "ichigatsu" (first moon), reflects shoogatsu's original significance as the beginning of the lunar year, which is based on the Chinese calendar and traditions. In the agricultural past, families would pay their respects to their ancestors and pray for successful crops. Nowadays the first week of January is just referred to as shoogatsu, and families are generally more excited about the possibility of receiving prizes from all the "nengajoo" (new year's cards) they receive strictly between January 1-January 10 (since before or after this period would be an extreme faux pas). Nengajoo are printed with lottery numbers for prizes awarded by the post office starting on January 15. Since nengajoo are exchanged between family, friends, and associates (including a great deal of business networking), receiving a large number of nengajoo is an indication of high social status...of course it also doesn't hurt your odds for the lottery prizes either!

Some other shoogatsu traditions include placing traditional pine ornaments, called "kado-matsu", outside the front door to welcome ancestral spirits, and the preparation of special holiday foods such as "o-sechi-ryoori", "zoni", and "mochi" prepared in various ways. O-sechi-ryoori is a miscellaneous selection of various types of New Year's food placed into "bento" (lacquer) food boxes. Most of the foods prepared have some tradition or meaning, such as "mame" (beans) for good luck, etc. "Zoni" is a soup with "mochi" (rice cakes) as its main ingredient. Zoni varies by each region in Japan, with different types of soup base and vegetables according to the region.

Mochi is probably the main food for shoogatsu, like turkey is to the Western Thanksgiving. There are traditions surrounding mochi, such as the "mochitsuki", where the rice cakes are prepared by hand through pounding the rice in a round stone bowl and wooden hammer. This custom is generally done when the families are gathered together. Some other ways mochi is enjoyed is by dipping in red bean sauce, kinako (soy bean powder mixed with sugar),or baked, wrapped in seaweed and then dipped in soy sauce. On New Year's Eve, it is common to eat soba noodles to symbolize long life and continuity across the years.

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