The background of Japanese New Year's greetings is painted in red and white. The reason “red” and “white” are used in New Year's greetings is because they have been considered auspicious colors since ancient times. Red means “vitality” or “protection from evil,” and white means ‘purity’ or “beginning.” The combination of these two colors is considered an appropriate color for life celebrations and New Year's festivities.
It should be noted that the real sun is sometimes depicted in bright red as a sign of unsettling events, but this tag does not represent the sun at sunrise or sunset.
