Setsubun marks the last day of winter
Did you "mame-maki" yesterday?
Setsubun literally means " division of seasons." It is used to mark the end of winter and summer, and is derived from the old lunar calendar. However, "Setsubun" has now come to mean the day before the first day of spring only. It usually occurs around February 3rd. On this day, in a custom called mame-maki, people throw and scatter roasted soy beans inside and outside their houses
while saying, " Get goblins out of the house! Invite happiness into the home!" Some people believe that mame comes from the word mametsu which means drive away evil matter, in Kanji.
「節分」とは文字通り季節の変わり目を示す言葉で旧暦ではこの日が冬や夏の終わりでした。でも今では「節分」は春の始まりの前日のみを指して、たいていは２月３日あたりです。この日、人々は「鬼は外！福は内！」と言いながら炒った大豆の「豆」を家の外と中に撒きます。一説ではこの「豆」は漢字の「摩滅」が元となっているとされています。
（アルクより）
Did you "mame-maki" yesterday?
