New Year's Day

In Japan, New Year's Day, or Shogatsu, is observed on January 1st to mark the start of a new calendar cycle and welcome the New Year deity. This date is a designated public holiday throughout the country, resulting in the closure of government administrative offices, banks, and many private corporations from late December through early January.

While some essential services remain operational, the majority of the national workforce receives time off to participate in traditional three-day festivities known as Sanganichi.

The holiday serves as a critical period for social and spiritual recalibration, emphasizing the theme of first experiences to set a positive tone for the months ahead. It functions as a primary occasion for family reunification and cultural preservation in modern Japanese society.

Families across Japan commonly participate in hatsumode, which involves visiting a shrine or temple during the first few days of January to pray for future success. Residential entrances are often adorned with kadomatsu and kagamimochi to invite good fortune, while children receive monetary gifts called otoshidama.

Culinary traditions are central to the observance, with the consumption of elaborate osechi-ryori boxed meals and savory ozoni soup featuring grilled mochi.