New Year Greetings

We have left behind the Year of the Tiger and now entered the Year of the Rabbit. There are lots of traditions around Japan on the first day of the New Year. People hang special decorations outside their homes, special food is eaten and the same greeting is repeated wherever you are - あけましておめでとうございます(Happy New Year). There is one custom here that you will not find in the west - sending New Year cards. Very few people here send Christmas cards but almost all will send a special postcard to family, friends and colleagues. Any one family may have hundreds to print, address and post. This is holiday time here but not for the postal workers - many extra volunteers are drafted in to deal with the volume of post at New Year time. Many of the cards are delivered on New Year's Day itself. People often include a family photo and there may something to do with a rabbit (or whatever the particular year is). Not everyone will send a card though. Those who have lost a relative during the preceding year will send a special card towards the end of November informing those who usually send them a New Year card that they are 'in mourning'. People will not then send a New Year's greeting card to that family. Many people will keep a list on their computer so they can maintain up-to-date records of those to receive a card so that no one is missed out. Greetings form a big part of Japanese culture so people are happy to spend the time and effort in making sure they pass on greetings at the outset of another year.