Widely celebrated on December 31, Omisoka marks the end of the preparations for New Year’s celebrations in Japan. On Omisoka, people wearing kimonos fill the streets as they go to visit shrines. But millions watch the “Red and White Song Contest” on TV. This marathon song festival, first organized in 1950, has become an indispensable ritual of the New Year. The TV show ends shortly before midnight in time for an older tradition: the tolling of the great bells in Buddhist temples at midnight. Priests strike the bells 108 times, a reminder of the 108 human frailties or sins in Buddhist belief. Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary