Omisoka - New Year's Eve in Japan

December 31 is called "Omisoka" in Japanese.　"O" means " Big" or "Great" and it is used when emphasizing something. In old Japanese language,　"Miso" simply meant "30th"　just like 30 years old is called "misoji". Ｉ speculate that "Misoka" originally meant "30th day of the month". Then the word somehow started to mean "the end of the month".　December 31 is the very end of all months of the year as well as the end of the month. That is why it is called Omisoka, I believe.

Nippon vs Nihon - why there are two pronounciations?

Some people wonder why there are two ways to prounouce Japan in Japanese, i.e. "Nippon" and "Nihon". Is either one the official name of Japan?  Why are there two similar names?
If you are interested, then perhaps you will like the article which I wrote.  Read my article on
Nihon or Nippon on Japan Luggage Express website.