迎春 [げいしゅん] – New Year’s Greetings

• 迎 [ゲイ・むかえる] – to welcome, to greet
• 春 [シュン・はる] – spring (season)

昨年中は大変お世話になりました。今年も宜しくお願い致します！

大晦日 [おおみそか] – New Year’s Eve

• 大 [ダイ・おお-・おおきい] – big, large
• 晦 [カイ・つごもり・くらい・みそか] – disappear; dark
• 日 [ニチ・ジツ・ひ・-か] – day; sun

Happy Big Disappearing Sun… day!

七夕 [たなばた] – Tanabata Festival

• 七 [シチ・なな] – seven
• 夕 [セキ・ゆう] – evening

Tanabata is a seasonal festival celebrated in Japan and other Asian countries on 7/7, and was always one of my favorites.  Summer had come, people were frolicking in the streets, and there was great Japanese festival food to be had everywhere!  But what is Tanabata?

According to legend, 七夕 represents the story of the literally star-crossed lovers 織姫 [おりひめ], the “weaving princess” (the star Vega), and 彦星 [ひこぼし], the “cow herder star” (the star Altair).  織姫 spent her days weaving beautiful fabric for her father 天帝 [てんてい], the King of Heaven, along the banks of 天の川 [あまのがわ], the Milky Way (lit: “river of heaven”).  Because she did nothing but weave, she feared she would never fall in love.

To remedy this, her father arranged for her to meet 彦星, the cow herder who worked on the other side of the Milky Way.  They fell in love instantly and married, and 織姫 stopped weaving.  This angered her father, and he forbade them to cross the Milky Way.  Moved by her sadness, the King of Heaven gave them permission to meet once a year, on the 7th evening of the 7th month.

You’ll notice that 七 is not pronounced たな, nor is 夕 pronounced ばた.  The pronunciation たなばた comes from the 棚機 [たなばた], or loom, used by 織姫 to weave the beautiful fabric her father loved.  Another pronunciation for 七夕 is しちせき.  Anecdotally, I don’t recall having heard anyone refer to the festival as such, but that is likely only a reflection of my own limited experience.

独立 [どくりつ] – independence

• 独 [ドク・ひとり] – single; alone
• 立 [リツ・たつ] – to stand

独立記念日 [どくりつきねんび] – Independence Day

Independence means standing on your own.  Happy Birthday, America.

ホワイトデー [howaitodee] – White Day

March 14th every year is White Day, the day when men who received 義理チョコ are supposed to return the favor by sending women white chocolates, marshmallows, even lingerie or jewelry.  The gift is generally supposed to be of greater value, as reflected in the phrase 三倍返し [さんばいがえし], or “thrice the return.”

雛祭り [ひなまつり] – Girls’ Festival

• 雛 [スウ・ひな] – doll; duckling
• 祭り [サイ・まつり] – festival; ritual; celebration

Today (March 3rd) is 雛祭り!  Excited?  Me too.

Platforms are covered with red carpeting and a set of dolls called 雛人形 [ひなにんぎょう] are displayed.  The dolls represent the Emperor, Empress, and their court, and all are dressed in the traditional clothing of the 平安時代 [へいあんじだい] or Heian period.

義理チョコ [ぎりチョコ] – Obligation Chocolate

• 義 [ぎ] – justice; loyalty; honor
• 理 [リ・ことわり] – logic; reason
• チョコ – chocolate (abbr.)

As a compound, 義理 means a social obligation or courtesy, and plays heavily on a socially-trained sense of “honor.”  To get an idea of exactly what “obligation chocolate” is and how it’s used in Japan, let’s take a look at a paragraph from Wikipedia:

義理チョコは、一般には、女性がバレンタインの日に、恋愛感情を伴わない男性に対し、日頃の感謝の気持ちを込めて、またはホワイトデーの返礼を期待して贈るチョコレートのこと。あるいはその儀式全般を含有した日本特有の文化を指す。

Obligation Chocolate is, in general, given by women on Valentine’s Day to men for whom they have no romantic feelings in order to express gratitude.  In addition, it can be given as a return gift to those who gave White Day* gifts and expect something in return.  This ritual is peculiar to Japanese culture.

*(White Day is celebrated a month after Valentine’s Day, and involves men giving women candies, marshmallows, even lingerie.)