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「お年玉を入れる袋」の正しい名称は「ぽち袋」。大きさは名詞サイズぐらい。白地に「お年玉」と書かれており、その下にお正月らしい絵が描かれているものが多い。
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Japan in Numbers #9:
38,196 yen |
* 2006/1/25 配信 ALC Newsletter No.28(ALC
International Marketing 発行)より
* クリックできる語句には、語注がついています
While Japanese investors have been suffering from "Livedoor Shock(*)", Japanese kids have been enjoying looking at their purses or bank accounts. Otoshidama, or gift money, is one of the New Year's traditions of Japan, which makes children all excited right after Christmas is over. During New Year, they get money from adults, usually their parents, relatives or neighbors. It's a wonderful tradition for children; maybe not so wonderful for adults.
According to the research done by Kyoto Chuo Shinkin Bank, an average child got 38,196 yen (about US$330) this year. The research also shows that the amount increased by 2.5 percent from last year after three years of decline, most likely because the Japanese economy has begun to recover. While most of the children answered they wanted to buy either video games or clothes, 68.1 percent of them said they would actually deposit the money into their bank accounts. Maybe their parents have taught them what it's like when a bubble bursts.
Otoshidama money is enclosed in a special envelope, so children don't get to know how much money is in there until they're finally released from the boring family gathering and rush to their rooms. That's when they judge whether they like the adults or not! ... in a way. It can be difficult for adults to decide how much money they should give each child──they don't want to spoil them by giving them too much, while they also don't want to be considered stingy by giving them too little!
Parents also need to know how much and from whom their children get money in order to say thank you afterwards. But most children start to worry when they hear their parents saying "How much did you get?"──because it may be followed by "Oh, you got a lot! I'll save the money in your bank account so that you'll be able to use it when you get older. NOW, GIVE ME THE MONEY!"... If you ask your Japanese friends, most of them will probably tell you the story about the mysterious, secret bank account, hidden──or completely vanished, to be more accurate──forever. So, Japanese children learn the most important thing about life when they're still young──"Life is full of ups and downs."
(*) Livedoor Shock: A Japanese IT company, Livedoor Co., is currently being investigated for violating Securities Exchange Law. Because many investors were shocked by the news and tried to sell their stocks as soon as possible, most stock prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange dropped drastically during January 17-18.
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