Traditions in December: 十二月の行事

❄ December in Japan: A Month of Cleaning, Forgetting, and Quiet Magic

　When people outside Japan think of December, they often imagine Christmas trees and Santa. In Japan, December feels very different.

Yes, there are Christmas lights and cakes—but under the surface, the whole month is about something deeper:

“Resetting” your life before the year ends.

　Homes are scrubbed from ceiling to floor. Offices gather to “forget” the year over drinks. Temples prepare to ring out human desires at midnight. And on the coldest day, people soak in hot baths full of 柚子(ゆず, yuzu) citrus.

　 　Let’s zoom in on four key December traditions that reveal how Japan understands time, community, and renewal:

1. 大掃除(おおそうじ, ōsōji) – the Big Year-End Cleaning

2. 忘年会(ぼうねんかい, bōnenkai) – the “Forget-the-Year” Party

3. 冬至(とうじ, tōji) & 柚子湯(ゆずゆ, yuzu-yu) – Winter Solstice and Yuzu Bath

4. 大晦日(おおみそか, ōmisoka) & 除夜の鐘(じょやのかね, joya no kane) – New Year’s Eve and the 108 Bells
   

   

🧹 1. 大掃除(おおそうじ, ōsōji): When Cleaning Becomes a Ritual

　In many countries, “spring cleaning” is the big event. In Japan, it happens in December.

大掃除(おおそうじ, ōsōji) literally means “big cleaning.” It’s not just tidying your room; it’s a full reset of your living space before the new year. Families clean windows, air conditioners, kitchen fans, school classrooms, and even office ceilings. Historically, this tradition comes from a Heian-period court ritual called 煤払い(すすはらい, susuharai)—literally “clearing away soot.” It started as a palace ceremony to sweep away dust and drive out evil spirits before welcoming the New Year deity 年神様(としがみさま, Toshigami-sama).

Today, the meaning is still spiritual in a quiet, everyday way:

• Remove dust → remove old problems

• Clear clutter → make space for new luck

• Start January in a clean place → start mentally fresh
  

It’s also a moment of reflection: as you clean each corner, you review what the year gave you and what you want to release. Some modern writers even connect ōsōji to mental health and mindfulness, calling it a physical way to “clear your mind” for the new year.

For learners of Japanese, ōsōji is a perfect example of how a “normal” household chore can become a shared cultural ritual. It’s not just:

“I have to clean.”

It’s more like:

“I’ll step into the new year with a lighter heart.”

🍶 2. 忘年会(ぼうねんかい, bōnenkai): “Forget-the-Year” Parties

　December in Japan is also party season—but not for Christmas. It’s for 忘年会 (ぼうねんかい, bōnenkai), literally “forget-the-year gathering.”

　A 忘年会 is a year-end party with coworkers, club members, or friends where the goal is simple:

Forget the bad stuff from this year and laugh it away together.

　The tradition goes back at least to the Muromachi period (15th century), when people held gatherings called 納会(のうかい, nōkai) to express thanks. Over time these evolved into 忘年会—events focused on ending the year together.

In modern Japan, a typical 忘年会 might look like this:

• Location: an 居酒屋(いざかや, izakaya) with shared dishes and lots of drinks

• Participants: entire teams, departments, or groups of friends

• Atmosphere: more relaxed than usual, sometimes with games, speeches, or light-hearted “roasts”
  

　A key idea is 無礼講(ぶれいこう, bureikō)—a temporary suspension of strict hierarchy. Even if your boss is at the table, you’re allowed (to some extent…) to speak more freely than in the office. The next day, everything resets, but for one night everyone is “just people.”

From a cultural perspective, 忘年会 is fascinating because it shows:

• How Japanese workplaces manage stress and hierarchy

• How “forgetting” becomes a social, collective action, not just a private feeling

• How ritualized drinking can function as a kind of emotional reset button

So if a colleague asks you:

「こんしゅう、ぶちょうと いっしょに 忘年会に いきます。」 This week I’m going to a bōnenkai with the department manager.

…they’re not just going to “a party.” They’re participating in a yearly social ritual of release.

🛁 3. 冬至(とうじ, tōji) and 柚子湯(ゆずゆ, yuzu-yu): The Citrus-Scented Turning Point

　Sometime around late December comes 冬至(とうじ, tōji), the winter solstice—the shortest day and longest night of the year. In Japan, this day carries its own set of rituals that blend wordplay, folk medicine, and seasonal awareness.

🟡 柚子湯(ゆずゆ, yuzu-yu): bathing in sunlight fruit

　One of the most charming customs is 柚子湯(ゆずゆ, yuzu-yu), a hot bath with whole or cut yuzu citrus floating on the surface.

Why yuzu?

1. Fragrance and health: Yuzu’s bright scent and oils are believed to warm the body, improve circulation, and protect against colds.

2. Wordplay (語呂合わせ, ごろあわせ, goroawase):

   • 冬至(とうじ, tōji) – winter solstice

   • 湯治(とうじ, tōji) – “hot-spring cure”The same reading links the coldest day of the year with healing baths, making the custom feel “meant to be.”
     

　Families might also eat かぼちゃ (kabocha, Japanese pumpkin) on 冬至, another tradition connected to nutrition and seasonal belief (pumpkin stores well and was historically a valuable winter food).

　For Japanese learners, 冬至 (とうじ) and 柚子湯 (ゆずゆ) show how small, sensory experiences—warm water, citrus scent, orange pumpkin—carry symbolic meaning:

• “Even the darkest day will pass.”

• “Take care of your body as the year turns.”
  

　It’s a beautiful reminder that Japanese culture often encodes big ideas in very quiet, daily actions.

🔔 4. 大晦日(おおみそか, ōmisoka) and 除夜の鐘(じょやのかね, joya no kane): Ending the Year in 108 Strikes

　Finally we reach December 31, known in Japan as 大晦日 (おおみそか, ōmisoka). While some families watch a famous year-end music show on TV, the deeper cultural layer appears in two powerful images:

• The almost-silent streets late at night

• The deep sound of temple bells ringing into the cold air
  

🧹 Ōmisoka as a threshold day

　By Ōmisoka, 大掃除 (おおそうじ) is finished, 年賀状(ねんがじょう, nengajō, New Year’s cards) are written, and preparations to welcome 年神様(としがみさま, Toshigami-sama)—the New Year deity—are complete. The day marks the boundary between “this year” and “next year.”

🔔 除夜の鐘(じょやのかね, joya no kane): 108 strikes to clear the heart

　Late on Ōmisoka, many Buddhist temples across Japan ring their large bells in a ceremony called 除夜の鐘(じょやのかね, joya no kane)—“the bell of the last night of the year.”

• The bell is typically struck 108 times.

• 107 strikes occur before midnight, and the final one at the start of the new year.

• The number 108 traditionally represents human desires and attachments (煩悩, ぼんのう, bonnō) in Buddhist thought.
  

　Each deep, resonant sound is said to clear one desire—anger, greed, jealousy, and so on—symbolically freeing people from the spiritual “dust” of the year.

For many, listening to joya no kane—whether live at a temple or on TV—is a way to feel the year truly ending. There’s no countdown with fireworks; instead, there’s a slow, resonant letting go.

　If 大掃除 (おおそうじ) cleans your house, 除夜の鐘 (じょやのかね) cleans your inner space.

🎯 What December in Japan Teaches Us

　Put together, these December customs form a kind of emotional architecture:

• 大掃除(おおそうじ, ōsōji) – clean your space

• 忘年会(ぼうねんかい, bōnenkai) – release the year’s stress with others

• 冬至(とうじ, tōji) & 柚子湯(ゆずゆ, yuzu-yu) – care for your body in the darkest season

• 大晦日(おおみそか, ōmisoka) & 除夜の鐘(じょやのかね, joya no kane) – clear your heart and cross the threshold mindfully
  

　For Japanese learners, understanding these events isn’t just trivia. It changes how you hear the language.

　When someone mentions 大掃除 (おおそうじ) or 忘年会 (ぼうねんかい), they’re not just talking about “cleaning” or “a party.”They’re quietly pointing to this whole cultural system of resetting, thanking, and beginning again.🎍🌅

「単語(たんご)リスト: vocabulary list」

Term (Kanji / ひらがな / romaji)	Meaning (English)
大掃除(おおそうじ, ōsōji)	“Big cleaning”; deep year-end cleaning in December to prepare home/office for the New Year
煤払い(すすはらい, susuharai)	Historical “soot-sweeping” court ritual that inspired modern ōsōji
年神様(としがみさま, Toshigami-sama)	New Year deity believed to bring blessings and harvest in the coming year
忘年会(ぼうねんかい, bōnenkai)	“Forget-the-year party”; December year-end gathering to forget the year’s troubles
無礼講(ぶれいこう, bureikō)	Situation where normal formalities and hierarchy are relaxed (e.g., at bōnenkai)
居酒屋(いざかや, izakaya)	Japanese-style pub where many bōnenkai are held
冬至(とうじ, tōji)	Winter solstice; shortest day and longest night of the year
柚子湯(ゆずゆ, yuzu-yu)	Hot bath with yuzu citrus, taken on the winter solstice for health and good luck
かぼちゃ (kabocha)	Japanese pumpkin; often eaten on tōji as a warming, nutritious food
大晦日(おおみそか, ōmisoka)	New Year’s Eve (December 31), the last day of the year in Japan
除夜の鐘(じょやのかね, joya no kane)	Buddhist ritual of ringing the temple bell 108 times on New Year’s Eve
煩悩(ぼんのう, bonnō)	Human worldly desires/attachments; symbolically “cleansed” by joya no kane
年賀状(ねんがじょう, nengajō)	New Year’s greeting postcards sent around the New Year
きせつ (kisetsu)	season; important concept behind many Japanese customs
リセット (risetto)	“reset”; a modern loanword that nicely captures December’s emotional purpose in Japan