A popular and important three-day Japanese holiday, Ganjitsu has been the Shinto celebration of New Year’s Day since 1873. The first of January is a public holiday in Japan and many businesses shut for the entire three days, from 1 January to 3 January, with families and friends gathering to enjoy the season together, exchanging New Year’s Day cards and attending bonenkai (‘year forgetting’) parties. It is traditional to visit a shrine or temple during this period.