Japanese 'Setsubun' And American Groundhog's Day
Setsubun is a ceremony in Japan to ensure that the upcoming spring will bring with it good fortune, and that old demons that may be hanging around are driven away. If you are an American you know the old yarn about the groundhog coming out of his hole to see his shadow. Oddly but perhaps typical of yarns, if the groundhog does 'not' see his shadow, that means that spring is coming soon. For your information, Groundhog's Day is on February second (my birthday coincidentally), and Setsubun is on the third of the same month. Neither are national holidays, which used to disappoint me as a child but which I now could care less about. Setusbun, in fact, is far more exciting than Groundhog's Day as far as I'm concerned.
from: http://ezinearticles.com/?Japanese-Setsubun-And-American-Groundhogs-Day&id=5856804
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