japanese festival
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New Year (Shogatsu-j
Date: 1st-3rd of January
Other Names: Oshogatsu ("Big New Year")
Information: New Year observances are the most important and elaborate of Japan's annual events. Homes are decorated and the holidays are celebrated by family gatherings, visits to temples or shrines,and formal calls on relatives and friends.The first day of the year (ganjitsu) is usually spent with members of the family. People also visit Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. In the Imperial Palace at dawn on the 1st of January, the emperor performs the rite of shihohai(worship of the four quaters),in which he does reverence in the direction of various shrines and imperial tombs and offers prayers for the well-being of the nation. On January 2nd the public is allowed to enter the inner palace grounds; the only other day this is possible is the emperor's birthday. On the 2nd and 3rd days aquaintances visit one another to extend greetings (nenshi) and sip toso (a spiced rice wine). Some games played at New Year's are karuta (a card game) and hanetsuki(similar to badminton). Exchanging NewYear's greeting cards (similar to Christmas Cards in Western countries) is another important Japanese custom. Koshogatsu means literally "Small New Year" and starts with the first full moon of the year (around Januaray 15th)...