Japanese New Year Essay -- Japan History Holidays Essays

japanese overbold Year IntroductionIn lacquer one of the most celebrated festivals is New Years. The Nipponese New Year, or Oshogatsu (), is given more preparation than any other festival. in that location are many traditions and activities that happen at this time. Oshogatsu is a time to chatter temples, forget the troubles of the past year, and wish for good fortune in the bare-ass. numerous festivals around this time also reflect the values and ideals of New Years. record During the time of the Empress Suiko (593-628), Japan was work outd greatly by the religion and beliefs of China. In A.D. 604 Japan officially adopted the Chinese schedule. gThe new calendar was a lunar- solar one that has its months based on the lunar cycle. Casal writes gThe month begins when the sun enters the shrink of the Fishes the first twenty-four hours of the year, therefore leads on a day between January 20th and February 19th, and this is much nearer to spring (2). This syste m was in effect until the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1872. This is important because the seasons fall in line of reasoning better with the lunar calendar than the modern one. In rural areas, many farmers still apply the Chinese calendar to their trade. Japanese people believed that the New Year started when the plants began to sprout life again, a new beginning. This happens throughout most of Japan in mid Jan. in line with the lunar calendar. In todayfs society Oshogatsu always falls on the corresponding day (Jan. 1st), there are other festivals, which fall into the lunar calendar that have the same values of purification and new beginnings. Another influence from China at this time was Buddhism, which had been praised by Prince Shotoku Taishi, and became the official religion in 621.... ...nt from, and happier than, we do on ordinary days.h(Casal 1)BibliographyFestivals.com. 28 Nov. 2003Seattle, Washington,http//www.festivals.com/search/display_event.aspx?eid =mYJmQbyD5jQ%3d&srid=3&page=1&bycountry=1&RID=jp&PROV= http//www.festivals.com/search/display_event.aspx?eid=lvluK1qWwM8%3d&srid=7&page=1&bycountry=1&RID=jp&PROV= (7)Japan Cultural entanglement Homepage. 28 Nov. 2003http//www.hevanet.com/miyumi/december.htm http//www.hevanet.com/miyumi/january.htmhttp//www.hevanet.com/miyumi/february.htmJapan-Guide.com 2 Dec. 2003Casal, U. A. The Five Sacred Festivals of Ancient Japan. Ruttland, Vermont &Tokyo Japan Charles E. Tuttle Company Inc. 1967Bauer, Helen & Carlquist, Sherwin. Japanese FestivalsDoubleday & Company Inc. Garden City, New York, 1965gHadaka Mairih Akita sakigake (Newspaper) 20 Jan. 2003 (1, 26)