Monday, January 26, 2009

年賀状 (nenga jo) : New Year's Cards

Many people around the world send season's greeting cards around Christmas time. Japanese people send nenga jo (年賀状), New Year's Cards. If you post the cards by Christmas time, they will be delivered in the morning of New Year's Day called gan tan (元旦). This season's catch phrase for New Year's Cards was "I think nenga jo is a gift." I think so too.
By Christmas time last year 3,312,000,000 special post cards called nenga hagaki (年賀はがき)which have lottery numbers have been sold. In the morning of New Year's Day this year 2,089,000,000 cards were delivered.
Usually people write new year's greeting, their resolutions of the new year, or update of themselves. Some people use family pictures too. I love receiving new year's cards with individual messages.
Yesterday there was a drawing. Prizes are popular electrical appliances, domestic travel tickets, selective gourmet foods,and so on. The booby prize is a piece of stamp sheet.
I hope somebody I sent the card got a nice prize.

No comments:

Post a Comment