お年玉 Otoshidama
Giving money the relative kids in the New Years time.
Long time ago, it was completely different event; the leader of the house gives rice cake which was offered for the god to the family.
The concept of this custom was to get a rice cake from Toshigami-Sama (house god) in the early New Years time. As it has believed that the soul of god comes into the rice cake (Kagami-Mochi, blog.1), so eating rice cake is to obtaining the god’s soul into the body.
Around the high economic growth time in Japan, the way do this custom has eventually changed to the money given from older people.
For Oshougatsu celebration, if somebody from the family passed away during the previous year, Japanese refrain the general celebrations until after one year passes, the time period for this is called Mochuu (喪中).
There is no restriction for that However, generally many people follow this custom. While mochuu, the family send the mochuu mail (喪中ハガキ) instead of New Year’s greeting card (Nengajou), to inform people that they cannot celebrate the new year coming due to the incident. Moreover, it is considered right not to hold a wedding ceremony nor going to shrine unless there are special reasons.
The best thing is everyone to be healthy all the time!
Little Japan Dictionary 
In Nepal, we too have the same belief.
If somebody from the family passed away during the previous year, Nepalese too refrain from the general celebrations until after one year passes.
I know it might sound too selfishly of me but our longest streak is I guess 3 years without any celebration due to the sudden demise of one member of our family. And in advance the dead person close family members especially boys have to shave the hair according to old beliefs.
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