Mysterious religious event on New Year's Eve night

We have a religious event called 除夜の鐘 in Japan. It is held on New Year’s Eve night, in temples.

Big bell rings 108 times, by being hit. The 108 times bell begins a little hours before that midnight. Many Japanese people go past midnight between old year and new year while hearing the bell.

It is said that the number of 108 is the number of human worldly desires. It is based on the thoughts of Buddhism. We have various desires and it is non limited. As you know human’s desires are non limited. Also human’s desires worry human’s heart. The 108 times bell tries to cancel and lose these various desires.

Hearing this bell, our heart becomes calm. In Japan, New Year’s Eve is in winter. It will be snowing in some areas that night. The sound of a bell echoes in the landscape of snow. It is a beautiful night.

In my childhood, I went to temples many times to ring a bell. With many friends. It was an exciting experience. The bell was very big and about ten times my body. Around me some monks were chanting the sutra there. That was a mysterious place.

It would be that Japanese believers will not be able to ring bells on this New Year’s Eve. Instead, only monks will ring bells in many temples. It is not avoidable because the pandemic does not still end.

Japan will ring bells with the hope that this pandemic will end next year. On the last night of 2021.