元旦

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: The spelling is 元旦, read がんたん, and it combines 元, meaning beginning, with 旦, meaning morning.
• Basic usage: 元旦 specifically refers to the morning of New Year's Day rather than automatically covering the entire day.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The morning of the first day of the year
  • Both examples use the form 元旦. The greetings and quiet snowy view occur on New Year's Day morning, so the time span should not be broadened without context to all of January 1.
• Family greetings and this year's snowy morning
  • 元旦、家族で新年の挨拶をした。 — Our family exchanged New Year's greetings on the first morning of the year.
  • 今年の元旦は静かな雪景色を眺めて過ごした。 — On New Year's Day morning this year, I spent my time looking at the quiet snowy landscape.