EY Y01 L33 Japanese New Year

  1. Japanese families do many things to celebrate the coming of the new year. Name one. Tell me about it.
  2. Who will you be spending your next New Years Holiday with?
  3. Are you looking forward to the New Year's holiday? Why?
  4. What do you remember most vividly and fondly from New Years (Oshougatsu) when you were a child?
  5. How is the New Years holiday different now compared to how it used to be when you were a child?
  6. What do you find the most irksome or annoying thing you have to do over the New Years holiday?

Question 1

I think the most popular thing that Japanese families do on the new year is going to the temple or shrine between January 1 to 3. They do this to give thanks for the previous year and to pray for guidance in the new year.

Question 2

I'm going to be spending it with my husband and hopefully both of our families. We're trying to get our families together for the first time during Christmas and the New Year.

Question 3

Yes, I was really looking forward to getting some rest and relaxation during the long break. I've had a tough year, it was my first year living in Japan and I had to move to a new city in August, so I really needed a break.

Question 4

Fireworks used to be a big deal in the Philippines, anyone can light up fireworks anywhere. It's still the same now but over the years there have been less fireworks because people are becoming more environmentally conscious and also want to avoid losing some fingers. But when I was a child and fireworks were more popular, I remember having so much with my friends outside lighting up fireworks with the adults and playing in the smoky streets. There were so many fireworks that were lit up that the streets were covered in about 6 inches of fireworks paper. Everyone cleaned it up the next day, it was a real community effort.

Question 5

In Japan it's a little less exciting. I didn't even see any fireworks this year and it was a quiet day. My husband and I didn't do anything special. But when I was a child it was a big deal with fireworks for everyone and food was out on the table all day for everyone to feast on. We would all gather at my grandparents' house and have a good time.

Question 6

The most annoying thing that I have to do over the New Years holiday is having to suffer through family reunions with relatives I wasn't so fond of. It became easier to avoid them as I got older.

Tough Vocabulary