* they send out postcards to all family and friends - similar to our Christmas cards
* At midnight on December 31, Buddhist temples all over Japan ring their bells a 108 times to symbolize the 108 human sins in Buddhist belief, and to get rid of the 108 worldly desires regarding sense and feeling in every Japanese citizen. A major attraction is The Watched Night bell, in Tokyo. Japanese believe that the ringing of bells can rid off their sins during the previous year.
* Japanese people eat a special selection of dishes during the New Year celebration called osechi-ryōri This includes seaweed, fishcakes, etc. Many of these dishes are sweet, sour, or dried, so they can keep without refrigeration—the culinary traditions date to a time before households had refrigerators, when most stores closed for the holidays.
* they read/write poems
* they play games, including kite flying
* they have a traditional decoration ("flower arrangement" made up of fir tree branches and bamboo)
