Setsubun no Hi...2-3 of February.

 February in Japan is known to be the month of Setsubun, a holiday that welcomes spring marking the end of winter.

2-3 de February

The best places to see this in Tokyo are Zojoji Temple (behind Tokyo Tower) and Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa, which also offers classical dance. In Kyoto, Mibu-dera has performances of Setsubun Kyogen at 1:00 p.m; Rokuharamitsu-ji has a demon chase and chickpea toss on the afternoon of the 3rd; Yoshida Jinja is famous for her chase of the demon at 7:00 p.m. on the 2nd, and a fire festival at 11:00 p.m. on the 3rd.

At this Japanese festival, people visit temples to pray and ask for the good luck of their loved ones and to buy soybeans that will later be used for the soybean launching ceremony. Often in temples it is easy to find famous people or sumo wrestlers who go out of their way to distribute these seeds to the people.

SOYBEAN SEED LAUNCH Mamemaki (豆 撒 き)

To perform this ceremony, the toshiotoko is chosen in the family or the head of the family and they make him a demon mask.

All the members of the family throw the seeds at him shouting “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi "(鬼 は 外! 福 は 内!) Which means," out with the demons, let fortune in. "

The seeds that are roasted before, are eaten by everyone to get some luck in return. Everyone eats one seed or eats as many as their age, adding one more. This practice is extended especially by people who are in a certain age considered unfortunate in Japan, which are 25 and 42 years for men and 19 and 33 for women. To be lucky, they also eat a whole makizushi without cutting it, but it is important to remain silent and look in the auspicious direction of the current year of the Chinese zodiac while eating it.

The shops and supermarkets that usually reserve an area with bags of roasted soybeans on these dates, which usually include a gift oni mask.

I hope it was interesting, thanks for reading c: