O-miki

Sake is often consumed as part of Shinto purification rituals (compare with the use of grape wine in the Christian Eucharist).

Sakes served to gods as offerings prior to drinking are called Omiki or Miki (お神酒, 神酒).

People drink Omiki with gods to communicate with them and to solicit rich harvests the following year. 

At the New Year many Japanese people drink a special sake called toso. Toso is a sort of iwai-zake made by soaking tososan, a Chinese powdered medicine, overnight in sake. Even children sip a portion. In some regions, the first sips of toso are taken in order of age, from the youngest to the eldest.