Why do we eat mochi at New Year's?
This is a very difficult problem. This is because this is a custom that has existed in Japan for hundreds of years, yet there is no record as to why it was done.
Therefore, I would like to introduce a theory, although it is only an imaginary one.
Long ago, Japanese people believed that the gods would come on New Year's Eve. On New Year's Eve, they prepared rice cakes, vegetables, fish, and birds for the coming gods. The food they prepared for the gods was then eaten together on the following day, January 1, which seems to be the origin of ozoni.
It is said that eating the food presented to the gods means to eat the same food as the gods, to share the power of the gods, and to live happily for ¹the year.
To be honest, it is still not well understood why omochi (rice cake) is included in the osonaimono. However, in the past, food was not as plentiful as it is today. It seems that food, whatever it was, was quite important. Among them, omochi made from rice must have been especially important to the Japanese. It is said that they would offer something especially important to the gods and eat it later.
