The kind of osechi foods eaten in Japanese homes varies from area to area . It is a Japanese tradition to eat osechi dishes during the New Year 's holidays which go from January 1 to January 3 . Today osechi may refer to anything prepared specially for the New Year , and some foreign dishes have been adopted as `` Westernized osechi '' ( è æ ã ç seiyÅ - osechi ) or as `` Chinese-style osechi '' ( ä è é cents ã ç chÅ `` kafÅ `` osechi ) .