Watch the TV, and turn to the left channel, It should be a new year special program, keep pushing the left botton and you'll eventually watch the new year's game show where the host is the Harvest Goddess. Now, go back to your house and make some money! If you are patient (and lucky), you can make tones of money on the first day! After Zack finish talking, he'll leave and you can finally gain control of your character. He doesn't work on holidays, but you can put the goods inside the shipping box anyway, and wait for him to come the next day and pick them up. He's the shipper that'll take all your goods in the shipping box by 5PM everyday and pays you the money. Once you're finished, he'll leave and Zack will drop in. Say yes to watch small tutorials, or no to pass.
Afterwards, he will offer to give you more tips about crops and how to take care of animals. Head outside, Mayor Thomas will be waiting for you, and he'll explain some basic things about the game. If you are out on the street at 5:59AM, you'll be teleported back to your house at exactly 6AM, and the new day begins. The day ends at 5:59 AM or when you go to bed. You usually weak up at 6AM, but if you worked late last night, you might oversleep depend on how exhausted you are. One day in gameplay is about 12 minutes in real life. Each season has 30 days, and each day has 24 hours, and each hour has 60 minutes. There are 4 seasons in the game: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Like all other HM games, time stops inside buildings. You'll notice from the lower right corner of your screen that it's 6AM, and doesn't matter how much time you spent standing inside the house, it's still 6AM.
You can get more furniture later on when you have the money, and it's covered in detail in the house upgrade section. The other empty table in the lower left corner is for a music player that you get when you connect this game to Harvest Moon, Back to Nature for Game Cube. The empty table by the TV is for a Vase that you can buy later in the game. the tool chest is where all your tools are. The bookshelf is full of books that explains the controls of this game. The TV is where you can find out tomorrow's weather, cooking recipes, etc, check out the control section for how to change the channels if you don't know how. The bed is where you sleep if you want to end the day. This is all the furniture you have so far: a bed, a table with a diary, a calender, an empty table next to the TV, a TV, a bookshelf, a big round table, a tool chest, and another empty table in the lower left corner. You'll wake up in the morning inside the house. Watch the little event, and you are ready to play Harvest Moon. Start the game, and enter the name you wish to use, birthday, dog's name, and farm's name.