Oosouji

If I directly translate Oosouji from Japanese to English, it means big cleaning! However, it really means year-end cleaning.

In Japan, we have the custom of cleaning the whole house thoroughly before the year ends to welcome the new year.

We feel that it is rude for the new year with all the dirt from the previous year. This is very Japanese thing to do, and we do this special cleaning every year in December.

When I was young, I remember when I helped my mother clean all windows and changed the shoji.

*Shoji are Japanese sliding doors consisting of wooden frames and thin Japanese paper.

I still remember the coldness in the air and how I felt while cleaning.

Why don’t you start year-end cleaning gradually and welcome 2022 with refreshing feeling?