Bōnenkai (忘年会、ぼうねんかい）is a part of our tradition. When you visit Japan during this season, you'll notice lots of group people standing or chatting on the streets, at train stations, in front of restaurants and other places. When you step into a restaurant, you may see a lively group people having dinner with alcohol. It's party season in Japan, and these parties are called bōnenkai. The term means "The Forgetting of The Year", and we hold these gatherings with families, companies, friends and more.
Bōnenkai has a long history, and it seemed it's started in the 16th century. Back then, it belonged to upper-class samurai. They enjoyed reading and writing poetry in front of a large feast. Now, bōnenkai has changed the style, and it belongs to everyone. We no longer do any sophisticated things like reading poets, and instead, we love singing karaoke or playing silly games that make everyone laugh. I wonder if samurai saw the modern version of bōnenkai, how they would feel.
Last night, I had a bōnenkai with two of my best friends. Three of us got together at a fancy Italian restaurant. Since it's also the Christmas season, we enjoyed seeing the pretty decorations.
Two of my friends posed for a toast in front of my cellphone and said, "Kanpai (乾杯、かんぱい) !". It means "cheers"!
We were busy eating and chatting, and we had such a great time that I completely lost track of time and missed my chance to chat with my British friend online.
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On Wednesday I will go to my work "Christmas Dinner". I guess that this is the British equivalent. We have a large meal and sometimes have fun activities after dinner. Last year we played casino games. We didn't play with real money but were each given the same number of "chips" to play with. We competed against each other playing Blackjack, Roulette, etc. I'm not very good at such games but it was fun. I wonder if there will be any such activity this year.
@t4up3 Thank you for sharing the "Christmas Dinner" party. It sounds fun!! I hope this year you'll enjoy the party too!!
The title should be, The Japanese tradition of Bonekai
@MusiqueGraeme Thank you for the correction!
In Spain we celebrate something similar on the day of San Juan, 23 June, where we celebrate the arrival of summer and also the burning of everything old and to be forgotten in the bonfires, Yumi.
@druida Thank you so much for sharing your culture. Learning new things is fascinating! We don't celebrate summer, but we should because without summer we can't get crops.