In Japan, sending New Year's greeting cards or nenga-jô 年賀状 is a thriving custom today. Like in Western countries, you might say, with the key difference that greetings are not sent for Christmas (which is not much more important than Halloween in Japan), but rather for the Japanese New Year, o-Shôgatsu お正月 (note that this also falls on January first).

As an aside: the Japanese Post Office commits to delivering all nenga-jô posted on time by New Year's Day.

Nenga-jô most often feature one of the following phrases:

• [Shinnen] akémashité omedetô gozaïmasu kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaï shimasu 新年あけましておめでとうございます 今年もよろしくお願いします (literally: congratulations, at the dawn [of the new year], I ask for your kindness this year as well)
• Kinga shinnen 謹賀新年 ("Happy New Year!")
• Kyôga shinnen 恭賀新年 (literally: respectful congratulations for the new year)
• Geishun 迎春 (literally: welcoming spring)

The first of these formulas is also used when greeting someone for the first time in the year (like "Happy New Year!" to us, but a bit longer…). And keen observers will have noticed that shinnen 新年 designates the "new year."

Beyond these ready-made phrases, nenga-jô often feature the symbol of the Chinese zodiac corresponding to the coming year (for example, 2019 was the Year of the Pig).

While it is possible to purchase classic nenga-jô in all shops, many Japanese people now print their personalized greeting cards from their computers. These often serve as an opportunity to share family news, announce births from the past year, and remind friends and family of their children's ages.

Finally, each nenga-jô sold by the Japanese Post Office comes with a lottery number, offering a chance to win numerous prizes. It's therefore a race to see who receives the most nenga-jô, perhaps with a chance to win a trip around the world. (The Japanese Post Office has even arranged the sale of blank greeting cards with a lottery number, so that even handmade nenga-jô offer a chance to win the grand prize).

So if you happen to receive a greeting card from Japan with a number on it, don't forget to ask your correspondent to check for you whether your number is a winner!