Once upon a time, knowing which seasonal greeting to use was a sign of sophistication and something all rookie business people were taught in Japan. I still have a “cheating timetable” in my date book analog PDA listing the seasonal greetings to be used in business letters, as they change approximately every two weeks. The greeting for the beginning of June is “It is the ‘autumn’ for wheat,” (meaning wheat harvest time) and for the end of June, “It is the rainy season again…” Early July letters should start with “Summer is here,” and later progress to “The heat is at its peak.” These opening expressions are always followed by, “but/and I trust you are enjoying great success,” or similar references to success and growth of business.
The agricultural heritage of Chinese and Japanese cultures led to literary rules for season-specific expressions applied in poetry and haiku. These have evolved over the years and are still used today, not only in salutations. Japan celebrates the Spring and Autumn Equinox as public holidays. I personally find it a more life-enriching reason to take time off than say, the Melbourne Cup Day, which is a public holiday for the citizens to enjoy a horse race in Australia!
Electronic communication has made time and space distances disappear. But convenience and tradition need not be mutually exclusive. If you receive an e-mail from the Far East first mentioning seasonal developments, don’t let yourself get irritated and wish they’d just get to the point; enjoy it. I do, especially living two degrees north of the Equator where all we have is summer!
Ed. Note: Jules Takagishi has worked in Tokyo, Melbourne, Singapore, and Dubai. In May, she moved from Dubai back to Singapore to take up new responsibilities as Regional Key Account Director, Asia Pacific & Middle East for Deutsche Post Global Mail. Congratulations Jules!
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