Happy New Year!

New Year’s Day is one of the most celebrated, festive and busiest events of the year. Families and friends celebrate together and a variety of celebration is practiced worldwide. The idea of being away from family and friends on this day seems sad and devastating, but it can be the opposite. Experiencing and learning a new tradition can be fun, exciting, interesting and enlightening.

This year, I spent my New Year in Japan for the first time. I compared how different the tradition and practices were to the Philippines’. The journey of knowing these was nothing but enjoyable. I made a list of things to distinguish how the celebration in both countries differ. (Please see the list below.)

After the event, I came to realize that a few things were similar, but there were much more differences. In Japan, people commemorate New Year’s Day solemnly, quietly and in a more relaxed way, while in the Philippines, people welcome the new year with a ‘bang’. It’s all about loud noise that equates happiness. The louder, the better. The belief is a happy beginning means a happy year.