Greetings for a Rich and Rewarding New Year
The desk wishes every one of our readers of this column a rich and rewarding New Year 2016. We Japanese have inherited a graceful tradition of exchanging greetings at the start of a year commonly called Onenga.
The opening episode of the year 2016 has to do with this tradition - how it has evolved over hundred of years and how it is gradually being "spoiled" in the recent years.
In pre-war Japan the Onenga tradition had been a naiver practice of exchanging handwritten, mostly brush-written, greetings at the start of a new year. The idea of matching official Onenga cards with lottery was suggested to help raise funds for post-war reconstruction.
The idea hit a jackpot and ever since then the Ministry of Postal Services made it a major postal project. In 2003, the postal services were privatized but the Onenga cards business survived.
That said, the advent of IT and email is gradually deforming the years of tradition of Onenga. Many favor emailing to communicate, even to pass on New Year's greetings. A 40-year-old housewife in Kanagawa in response to a poll feels it pointless to customarily print a picture of her family with a few of greetings once a year. She says she would rather write postcards whenever need be, " not necessarily at the turn of the year".
A male, age 60, in Shiga argues:
"To live a meaningful decade till 71, I've decided to minimize lifestyle and reduce the trivial - Onenga being one of them." He sends his last Onenga this year declaring he will cease to "greet this way".
Meanwhile, a 20-year-old young woman in Kanagawa feels otherwise. She finds Onenga a meaningful tradition more so in the age of email and LINE.
"We do too many too easily", she says. "That is more reason why we should do certain things to our hears' content - Onenga is one of them", she appeals.
An aged lady, 90 years of old, in Mie, finds it most valuable to "take time and renew friendship" to her acquaintances in Onenge.
This desk, too, finds it meaningful to wish you all a "Rich and Rewarding" New Year.
News Source: Withnews
