The "Firsts" of the New Year in Japan

Celebrating the new year in Japan also means paying special attention to the first time something is done in the new year.

Hatsuhinode (初日の出) is the first sunrise of the year. Before sunrise on January 1, people often drive to the coast or climb a mountain so that they can see the first sunrise of the new year.

Hatsumōde is the first trip to a shrine or temple. Many people visit a shrine after midnight on December 31 or sometime during the day on January 1. If the weather is good, people often dress up or wear kimono.
 
"first sun" (hatsuhi) or "first sunrise",

"first laughter" (waraizome—starting the New Year with a smile is considered a good sign),

first dream (初夢, hatsuyume),

"first letter" (hatsudayori—meaning the first exchange of letters),

"first calligraphy" (kakizome),

"first brush" (fude hajime).
 
other "firsts" that are marked as special events include shigoto-hajime (仕事始め, resuming work after the New Year's vacation, the first work of the new year),  

keiko-hajime (稽古始め, the first practice of the new year),  

hatsugama (the first tea ceremony of the new year),

and the hatsu-uri (the first shopping sale of the new year).

There is also an associated festival of Little New Year (小正月 koshōgatsu^?), traditionally celebrating the first full moon of the new year, on the 15th day of the first lunar month (approximately mid-February). This is now sometimes celebrated on January 15th, in various respects. The main events of Koshōgatsu are rites and practices praying for a bountiful harvest, and 小豆粥  (Azukigayu: rice gruel with adzuki beans) is traditionally eaten in the morning. Further, New Year decorations are taken down around this date, and some temples hold events, such as at Tōrin-in; see also festivals at List of Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties. This corresponds to the Chinese Lantern Festival.