January Festival in Japan

Traditional New Year (Shogatsu)
The Japanese celebrate New Year's Eve, Shogatsu is the word for the first month of the year, now it's January 1 of the new year. Before Tet comes, every house decorates a pine tree (kadomatsu) in front of the door. Legend has it that the god Toshigamisama will descend to earth and take refuge in this pine tree. On the night of the 30th New Year, the whole family will gather to have a New Year's Eve meal together. At exactly 12 o'clock at night, the temple bells through television channels travel across the country, the Japanese believe that 108 temple bells will scare away 108 precious children.

Every year on these days, family members will wear traditional Japanese clothes, eat banh day soup and go to temples to pay their respects at the beginning of the year. They also often get up early to watch the first sunrise of the year.

During the first 3 days of the new year, most activities in Japan stop. On January 2, Japanese people often write calligraphy, on January 7 many people pray for good health while eating nanakusa-gayu - a porridge made from rice and 7 herbs. On January 11, Japanese families will eat kagami-mochi cakes that are offered as offerings at shrines or on altars and pray for all the good things to come in the year.

Coming of Age Ceremony (Seijin Shiki)
The second Monday of January is a national holiday, coming of age. That is the day most of the city's local offices will hold ceremonies for all the local young men who have turned 20.

Nyugaku Shiken
University and College Exams: The centralized university entrance exam is held all over Japan in mid-January. The development of the education system in Japan also means that the pressure of this competition on children children to race to good schools great.

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