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The Japanese festival in Fukuoka, Setsubun is celebrated on February 2nd and 3rd and marks the modulation from winter to spring on the lunar calendar. Popular personalities dress up as Ebisu followed by other of the seven gods of good fortune throw beans, mikan oranges and 5-yen coins. All these accessories are associated with bringing about good luck and also with the ‘demon god’, ‘Oni wa soto fuku wa uchi’. The important catch line of this fest is ‘out with the bad, in with the good’. The most popular venues for observing this festival are, Tochoji Temple and Kushida Shrine. This festival, which is symbolic of transformation from winter to spring, is also known as the ‘Lantern Festival’. Setsubun lantern festival at Kasuga Taisha Shrine in Nara is celebrated with a grand decoration of around 3000 lanterns and this festival has gained popularity and recognition for almost 800 years. The citizens donate most of these lanterns. The reflections of the burning lanterns on the surface of the river and the vermilion structures of the shrine offer a beautiful harmony. The lanterns associated with Setsubun Festival are categorized into two groups, stone lanterns in the gardens and hanging lanterns in the corridors. The lanterns in the garden are decorated with Japanese paper strips where people inscribe their wishes and those lanterns are lit by the participants whereas the hanging lanterns come in a variety of different designs and are kept in the corridors. It’s assumed that the number of lanterns in the corridor actually corresponds with the number of wishes. The grand celebration of this festival allows you to enjoy dance performances by dancers dressed in kimono
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