Nengajo


We had an old custom to visit aquintances, relatives and someone
who's been so good to us, which called Nenshimawari /年始回り, between January 2nd and 7th.
(We call the period between Jan.1st and 7th Matsunouchi/松の内).
After postcards were issued early in the Meiji period (1868-1912), people began sending a greeting on a card.
This is the begining of the nengajo of today and it became custom.

Nengajo begin the same way with set phrases:

person to whom you send popular phrase other phrases
To everyone 明けましておめでとうございます
(Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu)/Happy New Year		 新年おめでとうございます
新春のお慶びを申し上げます
etc.
To higher ranking or
older people		 謹賀新年(Kinga shinnen)/ New Year Greetings 恭賀新年、恭賀新春、敬頌新禧、敬頌新禧、
謹んで新春のご祝詞を申し上げます
謹んで初春のお慶びを申し上げます
etc.
To friends or colleague or someone
who are not higher or older people,		 迎春(Gishun)/Welcome Spring 寿、福、賀、春、禧、
賀春、頌春、慶春,
etc.
賀正(Gasho)/Cereblate New Year


Then, we usually add recent recent news or our New Year's resolutions.


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We often draw or print pictures of the zoidac animals (Eto/干支).

子(ne) 丑(ushi) 寅(tora) 卯(u) 辰(tatsu) 巳(mi) 午(uma) 未(hitsuji) 申(saru) 酉(tori) 戌(inu) 亥(i)
mouce cattle tiger hare dragon snake horse sheep monkey chicken dog boar
1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 19655 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971
1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983
1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031
2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042 2043



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Japan Post puts out New Year's Cards with a lottery every year.
The drawing date is printed on a post card and
the resalt is informed on TV, radio newspapers, post offices, etc..

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If you put nengajo into special boxes at the post office or
certain mail slot of the posts between Dec. 15 and 25, they are delivered together on New Year's Day.