The New Year holidays, which are traditionally considered to be the time for family gatherings, have ended. Everything has gone back to normal. I n the past decade, there have been less things that make me feel celebratory about New Year.
When I was a child, no shops opened from the 1st to 3rd of January. The special decorations called 門松/kadomatsu (the first picture) were put in front of a lot of houses. When my parents took me to my grandparents' house, we all often wore Japanese traditional clothes called 着物/kimono because of the New Year celebration (the second picture: It's not my family, but my family was like this at the time). In town, I could easily see people dressing up in kimono or much better clothing than usual. These things made me realize the New Year Holidays.
Many years ago, when I first started working, on the first day back (usually 4th January), many female workers wore kimono to their offices. The scene was often reported in the news. In my company, there weren't many female workers who would wear kimonos. Still, they dressed up. On the 4th, we were usually allowed not to work. They went to their offices just to say Happy New Year to their colleges while having snacks and drinking.
In contrast, people don't usually dress up during the New Year holidays these days. We can barely find the special decorations in large cities - except in front of shopping malls. A lot of shops open during the New Year holidays.In Tokyo, even on the 1st of January, there are long queues in front of major shopping malls because some people are willing to buy limited lucky bags called 福袋/fukubukuro (the third picture) which they have their eyes on. In Japan, traditionally, lucky bags go on sale on the first business day of the year to celebrate the new year. A Lucky bag is not a bag; rather it is a set of various goods which are put into a paper bag. For example, if you buy a 100USD lucky bag, you'll get goods worth 500USD at least. Needless to say, you don't always get what you want or need. Until two decades ago, you could find what was put in a lucky bag only after you bought it. These days, many shops announce in advance what will be put in a lucky bag to attract more customers. According to the news, major department stores enjoyed good sales of lucky bags this year. On top of that, winter bargain sales starts on the 2nd of January in department stores and shopping malls, although it used to start around the 10th of January until a decade ago. Because of this, I feel that the New Year holidays the time to go shopping.
As for the first working day of the year, it literally means the day to start working. No female workers dress up.
In contrast, people don't usually dress up during the New Year holidays these days. We can barely find the special decorations in large cities - except in front of shopping malls. A lot of shops open during the New Year holidays.In Tokyo, even on the 1st of January, there are long queues in front of major shopping malls because some people are willing to buy limited lucky bags called 福袋/fukubukuro (the third picture) which they have their eyes on. In Japan, traditionally, lucky bags go on sale on the first business day of the year to celebrate the new year. A Lucky bag is not a bag; rather it is a set of various goods which are put into a paper bag. For example, if you buy a 100USD lucky bag, you'll get goods worth 500USD at least. Needless to say, you don't always get what you want or need. Until two decades ago, you could find what was put in a lucky bag only after you bought it. These days, many shops announce in advance what will be put in a lucky bag to attract more customers. According to the news, major department stores enjoyed good sales of lucky bags this year. On top of that, winter bargain sales starts on the 2nd of January in department stores and shopping malls, although it used to start around the 10th of January until a decade ago. Because of this, I feel that the New Year holidays the time to go shopping.