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New Year is the big one
New Year, not Christmas, is the major holiday. The evening of the 31st brings 年越しそば, buckwheat noodles eaten for a long life, and temple bells rung 108 times. The first days of January bring 初詣, the first shrine visit, and 年賀状 — New Year postcards, posted in December and delivered on the 1st, in volumes that reshape the postal service each year. Businesses close for several days, which for many people is the longest break of the year.