January 24, 2012
Photo of the Week: Setsubun Bean Festival
The Japanese don’t traditionally celebrate the Lunar New Year like many other Asian nations. Instead, the Setsubun Festival, or Bean Throwing Festival, falls in sync with the New Year celebrations across the world. Symbolizing the beginning of springtime on February 3rd, Japanese gather at shrines across the country to celebrate Setsubun and catch small gift packages, money in envelopes and beans thrown by priests from the shrine into the crowd. The ceremony is meant to bring good luck for the year to come. The Photo of the Week highlights the roasted beans thrown during the Setsubun ceremony.
Photo credit: mdid on Flickr.
Spread the word: