| I have been in Japan for five years, also means that I have spent five new years in Japan, but when I was a university student, New Year was just another day, most of the time New Year eves spent at the place of my part time job. Therefore, I did not have opportunity to experience the Japanese New Year. Those days I never mind about the bamboos in front of the both side of the doorstep in New Year time. It is only in Japanese lessons I learned little about Japanese New Year traditions. However, that did not inspire me to search more about New Year rituals in Japan. For one thing, from my experience I knew that, New Year is so special for any nationality and people have there own rituals and traditions for New Year.
Even though it was by accident, I had a chance to make a Kadomatsu for this New Year. Most of you might even do not know about it. KADO means the corner and MATSU means the pine. Therefore, it can translate as decorative pine trees at the gate. As many of the other foreigners, I thought it is just another decoration for the New Year, but I was mistaken, while helping to make the Kadomatsu , I had a chance to know the great meaning behind it. The Ojichan who made the Kadomatsu with me, explain about it. He said that Japanese New Year broadly connected with the god; New Year is the period when the god comes to the each house. Therefore, Japanese make Kadomatsu to welcome the god. Kadomatsu making is starting with the cutting of bamboos. In one Kadomatsu there are three bamboo poles, the tallest one symbolizes the heaven, the middle one is for humanity, and the shortest one is for the earth. Those three poles have tightly bounded with a straw mat and newly woven straw rope.
The Kadomatsu making inspired me to think more about the Japanese New Year and go deep in to it. It was a great experience to drink Toso and eat Osechi, Toso can be translate as spiced japanese Sake, and having the meaning of flush away the previous year's maladies and to aspire to lead a long life. I was wondered to here that each of the Osechi food has it own meaning, Datemaki, They symbolize a wish for many auspicious days, Kamaboko the broiled fish paste symbolizes the celebratory and festive mood, Kuromame brings the health in the New Year.
These are only few rituals, that I had chance to experience in this New Year. After looking so close to the New Year customs, what I felt was, as it define by the word “ お正月 ” ( Oshogatsu )means doing correct things in new year or make a fresh start in new year. So people pray for god to protect them in New Year and ask for the energy to be prosperous in New Year. However, how many of us really understand the meaning of the New Year. It is true that busy Japanese people might not have time to make Kadomatsu , or it is easy to buy one from the near by combini. Osechi also the same, you can even buy it from the internet
I remember back in home, we must help our parents for New Year preparations. Its same as Japan, we also do the Oozoji, (cleaning the house for New Year) we have to help our mom to cook New Year dishes, they always remind us 「 if you didn't help, you may not get your new suit for new year day 」 . So even, we like it or not we had to help those house works, but naturally, we learned many things, for example, how to use the knife, wooden pestles and many other tools. Spontaneously we had a big family education by helping our parents.
This may be unimaginable for children today, both in my home country and Japan too.
Because most of their parents are not conducting New Year rituals, give the excuse that they are busy, I remember, in my child hood on the morning of New Year day, the family members, all wearing their best traditional dress, sat in front of the table that covered with sweets and meals. Father and mother looked difference from normal days 、 we go down our knees and salute the parents, and then we can have our new year presents, Same as the Otoshidama in japan.
When I flash back, New Year was a happiest period of the year for me. having participated to Japanese New Year, I felt that there are some similarities of new years in japan and my home country .both have the basic idea of praying for health, prosperity and successes in New Year, and also it's a time that family get together . As a child, we learned many things from the New Year. When I think from now, New Year is to strengthen the family bonds.
I proud my self, that I made a Kadomatsu, you may think what you have to be proud; “it is not a big deal”. However, for me, it reminded many things, otherwise I may did not go deep in to New Year rituals in Japan.
It can be Japan or it can be Sri Lanka, it may be any other country, what I felt was, New Year is something which make an opportunity to strengthen the family bonds, last week we had the frightening news that, a brother killed his sister and cut off her body parts.
This incident awaken us to think about our family bonds, it's up to you, how you spend your new year, whether its important to do those rituals, what I think , real meaning of the new year is to strengthen the family bond, which might be most important to our society today. |
今年で私は日本に住んで五年目になります、今まで五回、日本でお正月を過ごしたことがあります。今までは日本のお正月にどんなことをするか、どんな習慣あるのかを真剣に考えたことがなかった。学生時代そんな暇がなかったと言っても過言ではない。学生時代、ほとんどのお正月はアルバイトのところで迎えた。そういう環境の中で日本のお正月を肌で感じるチャンスがなかった。そのときは、玄関のところに置いてある、竹と松で作った飾りを何かを考えることもなかった。それ以外は日本のお正月のことは学校の日本語の授業でたちさわったぐらいでした。本に書いていたことだけで、日本のお正月は素晴らしい、もっと探ってみたいという気持ちには慣れなかった。でもひとつだけ確ことをわかっていました。それはお正月というのはどこの国の人にもどの民族の人にもとても大事な行事だということ。それは私が子供のころのお正月の懐かしい思い出をたくさんもっているからです。