New Year's is said to be the oldest event in Japan. It can be said that it is a culture that has been especially cherished among Japanese events and customs.
The character "sho" in New Year's Day has the meaning of "beginning" of the year and "changing" the year. In the past, the whole month of January was known as "New Year's Day" and was known as the "Month of Correction."
From the beginning of the New Year, I spent half a month cleaning and tidying up my wife's home, preparing decorations, a place for the Toshigami, and offerings. It is also an important day for families to welcome and celebrate the new Toshigami.
Since ancient times, the first New Year's Day has been treated as special not only because it is the first New Year's Day, but also because it was considered to be the first day for babies to grow old.
The current common way of counting age is ``full age,'' but until around 1944, the mainstream counting method was ``kaunen.''
"Full age" is calculated from the day you are born as "0 years old" to the day you reach your next birthday as "one year older."
On the other hand, in ``Kaunen,' ' the day you were born is considered ``one year old,'' and you become one year older on the day you celebrate New Year's Day. I did. The first New Year's Day marks a child's 2nd birthday.
◆New Year decorations◆
As a celebration for babies on their first New Year's Day, it is customary for boys to decorate with a ``hamayumi'' to express their wishes for them to grow up healthy and strong, and for girls to decorate with a ``Hagoita'' to ward off evil spirits.
Since ancient times, there have been many events to ``ward off evil spirits'' and ``warm off evil spirits'' at the change of seasons, such as the year-end and New Year holidays and festivals, because demons (evil spirits) come out from the ``Kimon'' and cause evil at this time. This is because it was thought that it would cause illness or misfortune.
Therefore, in order to help newborn babies get through that period safely, people started giving hagoita and hamayumi as ``children's talismans'' on the first New Year's Day.
Be sure to include decorations that pray for healthy growth in your daily life.
There are several origins of the Hama-Yumi, but since ancient times it has been said that the bow and arrows have spiritual power, and the oldest ones date back to the Asuka period. It is said that a ritual called taisha was held. Also, in the Heian period, a ``ceremony to exterminate demons'' called ``Tsuina'' became a popular event held in the imperial court.
The ``hama'' part of ``hama (target)'', ``hama arrow'', and ``hama bow'', which are the tools used in Oiin, has the character ``hama'' which means ``defeating'' demons and demons. This is said to be the origin of Hamaya and Hamaya.
In the Kamakura period, hamayumi became smaller, and samurai families began to use them as decorations for boys' first New Year's, and they were also used as gifts as lucky charms. These customs spread among the common people, and even today, hamayumi are used as talismans for boys to ward off evil spirits and exorcise evil spirits, and are displayed at New Year's Day and the ``Boy's Festival'' in May. .
It is generally said that a hamayumi is given as a gift from the mother's family (grandparents) .
In recent years, the number of couples who do not do betrothal ceremonies has increased, but in the past in Japan, it was common practice for the bride's family to provide dowry money and the bride's family to provide dowry tools.
For this reason, in addition to hamayumi, most of the decorations used to celebrate a child's growth, such as the best clothes for shrine visits, hina dolls, and carp streamers, were treated as wedding accessories.
◆With the changing times◆
In recent years, with the trend towards nuclear families and changes in lifestyles, an increasing number of parents are thinking flexibly and not being too particular about traditions.
In some cases, both families share money, in other cases the man provides the money, and in other cases, the man himself provides the money to purchase the item without relying on his parents.
In Japanese customs, ``Shogatsu-ji Hajime'' is set on December 13th every year as the day when preparations to welcome the New Year's deity begin. We begin preparations for the New Year, including putting up New Year decorations.
It is common to display them for about a month until Koshogatsu on January 15th.
◆New Year decorations to display with Hina dolls and May dolls◆
Depending on the region or family, some people display them together with May decorations.
In such cases, we often receive inquiries such as, ``Can I leave it on until Boy's Festival?''
Basically, it is said that it is not good to keep seasonal items on display, but since they are good luck charms, there is no problem in leaving them on display all year round.
However, if you don't mean to display them all year round , it is still a good idea to display them and put them away according to milestones.
This is because the essence of the customs and festivals of a particular season is centered around adjusting one's lifestyle and changing one's lifestyle for that season .
I hope you will take this time to reflect on the culture of the time, take care of your family and your body, and reevaluate your lifestyle .
There is no particular rule regarding the age until which a person can display a hamayumi.
In the past, it was displayed as a ``talisman to protect children until they grow up,'' so it was common to display them until the age of 15, when the ``Genpuku'' ceremony, which is equivalent to the modern-day ``Coming-of-Age Ceremony,'' was held.
Even in modern times, some families display their clothes until they reach the age of 15, when they celebrate their coming of age ceremony, and some families display their clothes until they reach the age of 18, when they celebrate their coming-of-age ceremony. Other than that, some families consider milestones in school life and events such as Shichi-Go-San.
There is no set period for how long it will last, so many people continue to display it even after they become adults or get married, considering it to be a talisman for a person's growth, and it can also be used as a lucky charm or seasonal decoration.
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