The Japanese celebrate New Year ’s Day on Jan 1st on the Gregorian Calendar.
In fact, before 1873, Japanese New Year [正月・しょうがつ à syougatsu] followed the Chinese Lunar calendar and celebrated at the beginning of Spring[春・はるàharu].
Just as contemporary Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese New Year are celebrated to this day.
However, in 1873, 5 years after the Meiji Restoration [明治維新,・めいじいしんàmeiji ishin], japan adopted the Gregorian Calendar, so the 1st day of Jan is the official New Year’s Day in modern Japan.
It is considered by most Japanese to be 1 of the most important annual festivals and has been celebrated for centuries with its own unique customs.
They have their Traditional Food-お節料理・おせちりょうり osechi ryouri/osechi
昆布・こんぶ [boiled seaweed]
蒲鉾・かまぼこ [fish cakes]
栗きんとん・くりきんとん [mashed sweet potato & chestnut]
金平牛蒡・きんぴらごぼう [simmered burdock root]
黒豆・くろまめ [black soybeans]
Many of these dishes are sweet, sour, or dried, so they can keep without refrigeration- the culinary traditions date to a time before households had refrigerators, when most stores closed for the holidays.
There are many variations of osechi, some food eaten in 1 region are not eaten in other places (other even banned) on New Year’s Day.
Another popular dish is お雑煮・おぞうに，a soup with omochi[お餅/rice cake] and other ingredients that differ based on various regions of Japan.
Today, sashimi and sushi are often eaten, as well as non-japanese foods.
On the seventh day of January, seven herb rice soup「七草粥。ななくさがゆ」 is prepared, a day known as 人日,literally Human Day.
昆布.konbu --> in soup
蒲鉾.kamaboko
Japanese Kamaboko Tempura
栗きんとん.kurikinton
金平牛蒡・kinpiragobou (in bentou set,bottom right brownish color)
kinpiragobou garnished on the rice.
黒豆.kuromame in rice ball(onigiri)
お雑煮.ozouni (with some vegetables, white radish, carrot, etc)
七草粥.nanakusagayu
By: ♀Ling~クルミ♀
TO BE CONTINUED...
source from yahoo & wikipedia
