What is the Japanese term for New Year's Eve?

The Japanese term for New Year's Eve is Ōmisoka.

Ōmisoka is observed on December 31 and traditionally marks the final day of the year. The name comes from misoka, an older term for the last day of a month; the prefix ō means great or major. Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1873, fixing Ōmisoka to December 31 rather than the final day of the twelfth lunar month.

Families often clean their homes, settle debts, prepare osechi cuisine, and eat toshikoshi soba before midnight. The long buckwheat noodles are associated with crossing from one year into the next, as well as longevity and resilience.

Ōmisoka is not the same as Shōgatsu, the Japanese New Year period that follows it. Around midnight, many people make hatsumōde, their first shrine or temple visit of the year. Buddhist temples traditionally ring a large bell 108 times in a ceremony called joya no kane, symbolizing the earthly desires believed to cause suffering.