Setsubun

So we kind of (but not totally) missed Setsubun, the Bean Throwing Festival held each year on February 3rd. Setsubun translates literally as "seasonal division", and though it's not the beginning of spring, there is some connection with the lunar new year and the coming season - the day and its events and customs were a sort of 2nd New Year's Eve (I think). On this day, bad spirits and evils and all things negative are banished/cleansed/driven away, and the doors are open to welcome good, healthy spirits and energy. And how, exactly, is this accomplished? This is where it gets interesting. Beans. Beans (usually soybeans) are thrown either out the door, or at the father, who dons a devil-demon mask; throwers chant "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" Demons out! Luck in! The beans thrown at the mask-wearer drive the unwanted spirits out, and the luck is welcomed in by eating the thrown soy beans - one for every year of your life (plus one more in some place - luck for the coming year). People do this at home and there are events at several temples around town... and I missed it! Doh! But... I didn't miss it entirely.

When I made cinnamon buns last week, Steve and I tucked a few away for Nao but... ended up eating them. (Bad! Our excuse was that by day three they weren't that good any more.... right...) Anyways, she suggested we just make another batch (okay!), so she came over on Wednesday night - with peanuts and devil masks. We made the buns, ate dinner and then out come the peanuts (her reasoning was that they were not as messy as soybeans) and the masks, and after a short explanation of the what and the why, she started whipping peanuts at me. So I started whipping peanuts at her! And then in comes Steve from practice to find us giggling and throwing peanuts all over the place... crazy crazy girls. It was a pretty decent food fight - we ate before, we ate after, there was no mess... and bad luck out good luck in? I like.

Setsubun - Article and vid!