Omisoka (????),
New Year's Eve, is the second-most important day in
Japanese tradition because it is the final day of the old year and the eve of
New Year's Day, which is the most important day of the year.
People tend to be very busy on Omisoka because they have much to do to prepare for the new year, and New Year's Day in particular. Many even do a thorough house cleaning, called osoji (???). The exercise is much like the annual spring cleaning that people in most colder climates do and even involves changing the paper on shoji doors and setting tatami mats out to air in the sun. Similarly, on the final day of school before winter break, elementary school children do their own osoji to get their schools ready for the new year, and most businesses spend the year's final work day cleaning. The purpose of all this is to get ready to welcome in the new year with everything—including people's minds and bodies—in a fresh, clean state, making everything ready for the new beginning that New Year's Day is held to signify.
After cleaning, Japanese have the largest dinner of the year. Around 1100 pm on Omisoka at home, people often gather for one last time in the old year to have a bowl of toshikoshi-soba (?????) or toshikoshi-udon (??????) together—a tradition based on people's association of eating the long noodles with “crossing over from one year to the next,” which is the meaning of toshi-koshi. While the noodles are often eaten plain, or with chopped scallions, in some localities people top them with tempura. Traditionaly, families make Osechi (???) for new year day because cooking during the first 3 days of the new year is not a good thing for Kami of kitchens. But nowadays, most of families buy Osechi, cook ordinary dishes, or just don't know that custom.
At midnight, many visit a shrine or temple for Ninen-mairi(????) . (See Hatsumode) (??). Ninen(??) means two years and mairi means pilgrimage.
