師走 ～僧侶さえ走る月～
12月は日本の旧暦で「師走」。僧侶（師）が葬儀や法事で東西を走り回るほど忙しい月、というのが定番の語源だ▼ほか「年が果てる」の「年果つ（としはつ）」、仕事が終わる「事果つ」など諸説あるが、どれも年末の異常な慌ただしさを完璧に言い当てている▼英語に「師走」はない。Decemberは“the holiday season”だが、アメリカで年末を過ごした私には衝撃だった。25日のクリスマスが終わったら即休暇モードで、街がシーンと静まり、皆がもう正月気分。日本のように31日まで年賀状・大掃除で死にそうになる感覚は皆無だった▼北欧には「Julstress（ユールストレス）」という言葉があり、クリスマス前だけ日本並みに走り回るが、25日以降はサウナで寝正月。中国は来月の春節前が本当の師走になる▼どの国にも年の瀬のバタバタはあるが、大晦日まで全力疾走するのは日本だけかもしれない▼私もアメリカで年末を迎えたとき、26日から皆が「Happy Holidays～」と寝正月に入る姿を見て、文化の違いを痛感した。日本人は年が明ける瞬間まで走り続け、除夜の鐘を聞いた途端に「ああ、終わった…」と崩れ落ちる。それこそが師走の醍醐味であり、日本人らしい一年のケジメだ▼カレンダーを見て「今年も師走か」と呟いたら、もうその瞬間から師が走り出す。忙しいからこそ、新しい年がこんなに愛おしく感じる。師のように全力で走り抜けて、どうぞ良いお年を！
【英語訳】The Month Even Monks Run
December in the old Japanese calendar is called “Shiwasu.” The classic etymology says that even Buddhist priests—so respected they are called “shi” (masters)—run frantically east and west attending year-end funerals and memorial services.
There are other theories: “the year comes to an end” (toshi-hatsu) or “tasks come to an end” (koto-hatsu), but every explanation perfectly captures the extraordinary frenzy of the final month.
English has no word for “Shiwasu.” December is simply “the holiday season,” yet when I spent a year-end in the United States, I was stunned. The moment Christmas ends on the 25th, the entire country switches to vacation mode: streets fall silent, and everyone is already in New Year’s spirit. The Japanese feeling of almost dying from writing New Year’s cards and doing major house-cleaning right up to the 31st simply doesn’t exist there.
In Northern Europe they have the term “Julstress,” a frantic dash only before Christmas; after the 25th, people spend the rest of the year in saunas or sleeping it off. In China, the real “Shiwasu” arrives next month, just before the Lunar New Year.
Every country has some end-of-year hustle, but running at full throttle until the very night of December 31 may be unique to Japan.
When I experienced an American year-end, I was struck by how everyone slipped into lazy “Happy Holidays～” mode from the 26th onward. Japanese people, on the other hand, keep sprinting until the new year dawns, and the instant they hear the temple bells on New Year’s Eve, they collapse with an “It’s finally over…” That collapse is the true charm of Shiwasu and the distinctly Japanese way of putting a clear, decisive end to the year.
Tonight, when I looked at the calendar and muttered, “Another Shiwasu, huh,” the monks inside me started running that very second. It is precisely because we are so busy that the coming new year feels so dear. So let us all run like those monks—and may you have a wonderful new year!
