February 3, 2006
Added some photos from Flickr to the end of the post.
February 3, 2004
On the eve of the first day of spring in the old calendar, the Japanese celebrate 節分 (setsubun). They fling parched soybeans around the house while shouting, "Oni wa soto. Fuku wa uchi." Out with the demons; in with the good spirits.
Setsubun is celebrated at the coldest time of year. After this, the temperatures will begin to warm with spring. So it is no coincidence that setsubun falls near "Groundhog Day" and "Candlemas" (the old traditional end of the Christmas season). All three celebrations, almost midway between the solstice and the equinox, mark the turning of the seasons. In fact, setsubun, literally means "dividing the seasons".
Other People's Setsubun Adventures
- Robert Brady shows his granddaughters how to take back the night
- Jim O'Connell shouted out the demons at Wirefarm
- Karla's kindegarten kids showed the devils that kids rule
- JET participant Rita Mangan seemed to have a good time in Nagano.
- mumblemurmur's Flickr set: setsubun shows bean tossing at the Taishakuten Temple in Shibamata Tokyo (I think).
- Ryan Miller took some nice photos of Setsubun last year.
Related
- A great resource on the various old calendars which includes the names of the 24 periods of the Japanese year
- children's books on setsubun In Japanese, but the cover art is interesting.
- Candlemas and the presentation of Jesus at the temple Candlemas is also a festival of purification, celebrated 40 days after Christmas, the end of the traditional period of "uncleanliness" for Jewish women after the birth of a male child. (Update: and now the author's the pope)
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Candlemas
- (Celtic) Candlemas Customs and Lore
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens
February 04, 2006
Comments
I think that is very funny and unique hehehe
Comment by: angeline. Posted March 29, 2004 02:50 AM.
Share Your Thoughts
