こんにちはみなさん。

今月は１月です。新しい年が始まりましたね。
１月の漢字は「新」です。

新：（音読み「シン」）（訓読み「あたら（しい）」「あらた」「にい」)

The meanings of this kanji are
1. new
2. fresh

Example usage for 新 is as follows:
1. 新年 (しんねん: new year), 更新 (こうしん: renew).
2. 新鮮 (しんせん: fresh), 新人 (しんじん: freshman).

Example sentence:

新年あけましておめでとうございます。今年もよろしくおねがいします。

Happy new year. Please be kind to me this year too.

People send 年賀状（ねんがじょう）in the new year in Japan. These are like Christmas cards in the US. It’s common to send them to everybody you know. They usually have quick messages including the phrase above. Sometimes they include pictures of the new year’s zodiac animal. (2017 is the year of the rooster – just like this blog!) The phrase above is a typical New Year’s greeting. The second part（今年もよろしくおねがいします）is hard to translate. It says, “Please take care of me this year too.” It sounds weird, but it means, “Thanks to you, I had a great year last year, so please continue keep in touch with me.”

A lot of things are changing in the US this year. A new congress, new senators, and a new president. New things aren’t necessary good, but new things always contain hope. I chose this kanji for this month with hope for America’s and Japan’s future.