I’m wondering if people in the workplace exchange nengajo? Do any of y’all have experience giving nengajo? Is there anything else you would recommend doing for New Year’s?
It’s quite rare. You exchange New Year’s cards with friends and family, but it’s possible that a few of your co-workers might give you a card. You certainly don’t need to worry about giving them one, because they are not expecting one and wouldn’t be offended.
There are other New Year’s traditions that you could do, such as going to temples or listening to the bells or being up for sunrise. If you have some friends who want to do those with you, surely that would be a good time.
if you wanna do something for your teachers, instead, buy a basic assortment of sweets/snacks and put em in a basket by the coffee and tea with
“2022 otsukare sama desu, 2023 mo yoroshiku oneigaishimasu”
-your name
and you will be treated like a god
I have never seen Nengajo exchanged between coworkers. Well not active ones i should say. Some teachers say they would send the occasional one to maybe a very significant coworker. Maybe someone who helped them when they had a medical issue, or maybe a senpai kohai type thing. Just people you share a room with though is less frequent I would guess.
New Years stuff for the office i think is mostly just showing people that you know the phrases よいお年を(yoi otoshi o) (Happy New Year) and its post new years day equivalent あけましておめでとうございます (akemashite omedetou gozaimasu). At my school the teachers always make impressed noises at me saying them. (Despite the fact the day before they had a conversation with me in Japanese about the copy machine not working. Somehow they forgot between then and the following day that i have at least some basic Japanese.) People might bring a bunch of persimmons if their tree is ripe, or mikans in a box and just offer them to the office.
As for New years things to do if you are asking outside of work definitely find your neighborhood shrine to do a first prayer at! I dont really pray or anything but i like going through the motions and you might get a free mikan/mandarin out of it. Maybe visit a bigger shrine to do Omikuji (luck lottery?) or buy some omamori (charms) for the new year.
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It’s quite rare. You exchange New Year’s cards with friends and family, but it’s possible that a few of your co-workers might give you a card. You certainly don’t need to worry about giving them one, because they are not expecting one and wouldn’t be offended.
There are other New Year’s traditions that you could do, such as going to temples or listening to the bells or being up for sunrise. If you have some friends who want to do those with you, surely that would be a good time.
if you wanna do something for your teachers, instead, buy a basic assortment of sweets/snacks and put em in a basket by the coffee and tea with
“2022 otsukare sama desu, 2023 mo yoroshiku oneigaishimasu”
-your name
and you will be treated like a god
I have never seen Nengajo exchanged between coworkers. Well not active ones i should say. Some teachers say they would send the occasional one to maybe a very significant coworker. Maybe someone who helped them when they had a medical issue, or maybe a senpai kohai type thing. Just people you share a room with though is less frequent I would guess.
New Years stuff for the office i think is mostly just showing people that you know the phrases よいお年を(yoi otoshi o) (Happy New Year) and its post new years day equivalent あけましておめでとうございます (akemashite omedetou gozaimasu). At my school the teachers always make impressed noises at me saying them. (Despite the fact the day before they had a conversation with me in Japanese about the copy machine not working. Somehow they forgot between then and the following day that i have at least some basic Japanese.) People might bring a bunch of persimmons if their tree is ripe, or mikans in a box and just offer them to the office.
As for New years things to do if you are asking outside of work definitely find your neighborhood shrine to do a first prayer at! I dont really pray or anything but i like going through the motions and you might get a free mikan/mandarin out of it. Maybe visit a bigger shrine to do Omikuji (luck lottery?) or buy some omamori (charms) for the new year.