japanese greeting cards

Instead of sending Christmas cards, we send 年賀状(nengajo) -- a greeting card that is delivered on New Year's Day.  I read an article about what you shouldn't do when writing a nengajo and found it pretty interesting.

1. Do not use a red pen.

2. 新年 and あけまして mean the same so don't write both.

3. 謹賀新年 and あけましておめでとうございます mean the same so don't write both.

4. Do not use ominous words such as lose, fall, die.  For "last year", use 昨年 instead of 去年 (去る means "to leave")

5. Start with a sentence that shows appreciation and consideration towards the person who receives the card.  Do not write about yourself too much.

I think this should come first on the list.  It's pretty common to send a nengajo with pictures of our own children/wedding, or an absurdly long discription of how well we are doing.  But nengajo is not a place to brag about our cute children/ grandchildren or our every single accomplishment.  Close friends and family will appreciate that kind of nengajo, but not everyone is going to find our "family newspaper" adorable.

We don't send nengajo to people who have lost a member of their family (those who lost a family member in the past year write a different kind of greeting card in December to let everyone know that they will spend the season without celebration; it's called 喪中(mochu = be in mourning), and it's thought to be inconsiderate to send a nengajo to people in mochu).  But losing a family member is not the only harships we face in life.  There are people facing divorce, people who can't have babies, people in unemployment.  Maybe we should put that in consideration too? 

6. Do not use too many illustrations.  They can look childish.

7. If your card is going to be delivered after Jan 7, it is not a nengajo any longer.  Make it a 寒中見舞い (a kind of card sent during the winter season; the summer equivalent is 暑中見舞い)