Apparently 開き means "opening" but お開き means "closure", which seems very counter intuitive. What is going on here? Are there any other similar cases in Japanese language?
Answer
Euphemism vs. Taboo Words
[婉曲語法]{えんきょくごほう} vs. [忌]{い}み[言葉]{ことば}
「[閉]{と}じる」 ("to close") is considered a taboo word for auspicious events such as a wedding party (even though the word itself is something we use without thinking on a daily basis). Thus, we choose to say 「お[開]{ひら}きにする」 to mean "bring (a happy event) to an end".
「閉じる」 is not the only 忌み言葉 that one needs to avoid using if one is giving a speech at a wedding party. Words with negative meanings in the particular context of "marriage" are to be avoided - [終]{お}わる (to end)、[出]{で}る (to leave)、[別]{わか}れる (to part), etc.
Other examples:
「[葦]{あし}」⇒「[葭]{よし}」: "Reed". 「あし」 sounds like 「[悪]{あ}し」("bad"), so let's call it 「よし」 so that it will sound like 「[良]{よ}し」("good")!
「[梨]{なし}」⇒「ありの[実]{み}」: "Pear". 「なし」 sounds like 「[無]{な}し」("nothingness", "non-existent"), so let's change it to 「ありの実」(literally, "fruit of the 'being/existing' kind")!
「スルメ」⇒「アタリメ」: "Dried squid". 「する/掏る」 means "to steal" and it can also mean "to lose" in gambling. That does not sound too positive so let's make it sound like "to win (money or object)" = 「[当]{あ}たる」!
(I chose the examples that I thought would be more interesting instead of the obvious ones used in weddings and funerals.)
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