New Year in Japan is the most important festivity, celebrated at every home. The meal for that occasion, called osechi-ryōri, is prepared the day before and eaten cold. It usually consists of small portions of food neatly arranged in cups or on special trays. Osechi-ryōri is an artful composition of a few dishes, their individual ingredients and colors have symbolic meaning. Among the products used to prepare the dish there are black beans, fish, seafood, fish eggs, sweet potatoes, chestnuts and fruit. The meal should be dominated by intense colors such as red, white and gold.
