Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Osechi (お節) is a traditional Japanese New Year meal. The tradition started in the Edo period. The dishes that make up Osechi each have a special meaning celebrating the New Year. Some examples are: Kuro-mame (Black soybeans): "Mame" means "health". (Wish for good health in the New Year) Konbu (Seaweed): "Yorokobu" means "joy". (Wish for a joyful year) Tai (Red sea-bream): "Medetai" means "happy event". (Wish for happy events in the New Year) Kazunoko (Herring roe): "Ko" means "child". (Wish to be gifted with children in the New Year) Daidai (Japanese bitter orange): "Daidai" means "from generation to generation". (Wish to be gifted with children in the New Year) This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.