Climatically Japan is a country with four distinct seasons, and many annual events are associated with the changing of the seasons

New Year
The Japan celebrate the passing of one year the arrival of the next with great fervor. The period of celebration is called shogatsu, which in its broadest sense refers to the first month of the year.
On January 1 families gather to drink a special kind of sake that is supposed to ensure a long life, eat a special kind of soup containing glutinous rice cakes, and generally wipe away any bitter memories remaining from the previous year. People decorate the entrances to their homes with branches of pine and with straw festoons, which symbolically prevent the entrance of anything impure. They also visit shrines to pray for good fortune in the coming year and the homes of relatives and friends to exchange New Year’s greetings Nowadays many children spend the holidays engrossed in computer games, but there are skill battledore, spinning tops, kites, and sugoroku, Japanese version of Parcheesi. The New Year’s celebration is the biggest event on the calendar in Japan, and all companies and government offices are closed for the first days of the year.

Setsubun
In the past the word setsubun referred to any of the many seasonal changes on the old calendar, but now it refers specifically to February 3 or 4, the traditional beginning of spring. On the old calendar the first day of spring marked the start of the new year, and the preceding day or setsubun, represented the final day of the old year. The traditional way of celebrating this day is by scattering beans about the home to ward off evil spirits.

Doll Festival
The Doll Festival, or hina matsuri, takes place on March 3. Families with girls display a set of dolls representing the ancient imperial court and celebrate by drinking a special kind of sweetened white sake.

Children’s Day
The fifth day of the fifth month has been celebrated in China and Japan since ancient times. In Japan May 5 was made a national holiday in 1948. Though it is called Children’s Day, this festival is really only for boys. Families with boys hang streamers depicting carp outside their homes as symbols of strength, display samurai dolls and armor inside, and celebrate by eating special rice cakes.

Bon Festival
The Bon Festival traditionally took place for several days around July 15 on the lunar calendar, when the souls of the dead are believed to return to their homes. These days it is usually held around August 15. Many people make trips back to their hometowns at this time of the year to visit the graves of relatives. During this festival people set up lanterns to guide the souls of the dead to and from their homes, make offerings of food to the deceased, and enjoy a special kind of dancing called bon odori. The lanterns are often floated down rivers.

Tanabata Festival
Celebrated on July 7, or in some places on August 7, the Tanabata Festival has its origins in a Chinese folk legend about the romantic once-a-year meeting of two stars in the Milky Way: the Cowherd Star (Altair) and the Weaver Star (Vega). On this festival day people write their wishes on strips of colored paper, which they attach to branches of bamboo.