New Year's decorations - Hagoita -

September 15, 2023

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 a baby turns old.

The current common way of counting age is ``full age,'' but until around 1944, the mainstream method of counting age 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, so at that time, the first New Year was also seen as a birthday. 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.

▼Click here to see New Year's decorations - Hama-yumi

Traditional events add happiness to modern life. Parents' thoughts for their children Connect the culture of thoughts during the seasons we spend together.

Be sure to include decorations that pray for healthy growth in your daily life.

Hagoita is a ``talisman'' that prays for a child's good health and healthy growth, and is displayed during the first New Year's Day when a newborn baby welcomes it.

The history of hagoita is said to have started in the Muromachi period, when women would play with each other to celebrate the New Year in the imperial court.

Hanetsuki, which is performed at the beginning of the year, was not just a game, but also had the meaning of ``warding off evil spirits'' and ``warding off evil spirits.'' It is said that the sound made when wearing feathers and the ink that is painted on your face when you drop a feather are said to be hated by demons. I pray that you will recover from your illness and stay healthy."

Gradually, in the imperial court, the battledore used to hold feathers became a lucky charm and decoration given to women to ward off evil spirits and ward off bad luck .

It is believed that all disasters such as starvation and illnesses that occur at the turning points of the year are caused by "evil spirits" (demons), and rituals to exorcise such evil spirits and decorations as lucky charms are held. It was considered very important.

In addition, in the original hagoita, the beads on the tip of the feathers are made from the seeds of a tree called ``Muhiko''. It also has the meaning of "kids won't get sick", and the shape of the wings is likened to that of a dragonfly, and since dragonflies are beneficial insects that eat mosquitoes (mosquitoes carry epidemics), they are worn on New Year's Day. It was believed that mosquitoes would not eat you even in summer.

In this way, hagoita is recognized as a ``talisman'' that prays for a child's good health and healthy growth, and is displayed as a gift for a newborn baby's first New Year's Day.

Hagoita is generally given as a gift from the mother's parents (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 hagoita, most of the decorations used to celebrate children'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, ``New Year's events'' are set on December 13th every year as the day when people begin preparations to welcome the New Year's deity. 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.

◆Hagoita to display with Hina dolls◆

Depending on the region and family, some families display hagoita together with hina dolls.

In such cases, Hagoita often receives inquiries such as, ``Can I leave the Hina dolls out for half a month until Setsubun, when they are displayed?''

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 .

Until what age should you decorate a battledore?

There is no particular age limit for displaying hagoita.

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 or 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.