年越しそば と 除夜の鐘

  "New Year's Eve Buckwheat Noodles"　＆

”Joya no Kane”The tolling of　temple bells at midnight

日本では１２月３１日は「大晦日　（おおみそか）」と呼ばれています。
この日の夜、長寿を願ってそばを食べるのが古くからの伝統です。


3１ December, the last Day of the year is called "Ōmisoka (大晦日)"
Eating buckwheat noodles, and wishing for longevity has remained as one of the good old traditions of the night. 

大晦日の夜には日本中のお寺で１０８回鐘を鳴らします。これは「除夜の鐘」と呼ばれ、最大の仏教儀式の一つです。
日本の仏教信仰によると、人間は108の煩悩（ぼんのう）があると言われ、一年で蓄積された煩悩を全て洗い流すために、同じ回数鐘を鳴らします。
毎年、多くの人々が除夜の鐘の儀式を楽しみにしていています。特に京都の知恩院は大勢の人が集まることで有名です。７４tもある日本一大きな鐘を１７人もの僧侶が鳴らします。


  
Joya no Kane or the tolling of temple bells at midnight is the ringing of the bronze bell (temple bell) for 108 times around 12:00am on New Year's Eve (December 31). It is one of the biggest Buddhist ceremonies and it takes place throughout Japan's Buddhist Temples. The number 108 is sacred in many religions and there are a lot of meanings and coincidences regarding it. 

According to Japan's Buddhist beliefs, 108 is the number of passions and desires entrapping us in the cycle of suffering and reincarnation. Therefore, the 108 bell chimes symbolize the purification from the 108 delusions, sufferings and evil passions accumulated over the past year.

The Japanese New Year bell ringing ritual is actually an enjoyable experience, and the best place to watch Joya no Kane is the Chion-in Temple in Kyoto.
The large sized bell from the Chion-in Temple, cast in 1633, is the heaviest in Japan (74 tons) and a team of 17 monks are required to ring it properly at the New Year ceremony!