As I begin my year as the 2025 APA president, I contemplate the possibilities and hope of what lies ahead. In Japanese culture, Shogatsu or Oshogatsu, お正月 (New Year’s), is considered the most important holiday. The term “Oshogatsu” is a combination of two words: o, which means honorific or respectful, and shogatsu, meaning New Year. Oshogatsu is a time to focus on a fresh start, and there are customs and rituals that are connected to this holiday. Many of these customs have Shinto, Buddhist, or even Feng Shui roots. They are all meant to ensure an auspicious start of the new year and usher health, success, and prosperity into your household.
As we start this new year, I invite you to engage in whichever activities you choose to begin your new year afresh:
- Oosoji, or a big cleanup: To ensure that the new yearly cycle begins with clean, fresh energy, clean your space and purge it of old or unneeded items.
- Ring out the old attachments, bring in new energy: According to Buddhist tradition, ringing a bell 108 times on New Year’s Eve, with the last bell ringing timed to midnight, frees the bell ringer from the attachments and temptations of the previous year and allows the ringer to begin the new year with a clean slate. At the stroke of midnight, the ringer begins to sound the bell again, this time ringing in the 108 human virtues leading to strength and fulfillment.
- Celebrate togetherness: Another Japanese ritual that everyone can enjoy with family, loved ones, and/or friends is to watch the first sunrise of the year. It is a wonderful experience of togetherness to express appreciation and gratitude for those who are in our life as the first day of the new year dawns.
- Visit a special place: Hatsumode, or the first visit to a shrine, is customarily observed on one of the first three days of the year. The whole family visits their local shrine to offer a prayer for a healthy and good year or for the success of whatever special goal they have set to achieve. This meaningful tradition, observed in a special place, can help anyone set intentions for the year ahead.
I invite you to join with me in preparing for the new year as we recommit our energy to promoting the advancement, communication, and application of psychological science and knowledge to benefit society and improve lives.
