Demons out, good luck in! Setsubun in Germany.

Hello, this is Oka.

February 3rd was Setsubun, wasn't it?
My children look forward to this event every year. In recent years, demons have tended to be excluded from childcare settings because they are scary, but I believe that if you know the origin of bean-throwing, you can understand why we throw beans at demons to drive them away. That is precisely why I personally think it is important not to simply exclude everything just because children are afraid, but to go through it as an experience.

This is a picture book we read every year as a book that clearly explains the origins of Setsubun.

Once you become interested in demons, the 'Illustrated Guide to Demon Life' is also interesting. You can clearly understand the lives of sea demons and mountain demons.

Every year when Setsubun comes around, my children start making props. This year, holly sardines made their debut.
When I got home from work, holly sardines made of pipe cleaners were sitting on the desk.

This is a metal club. We have been using it since last year. The metal club's turn has come around again this year.

We also ate Eho-maki and faced the lucky direction to make our wishes.

And then, for the long-awaited bean-throwing, we used peanuts as a substitute when our youngest was still small, but this year we threw soybeans. When we tried to throw them from inside the room to the outside, the youngest's beans didn't reach the demon, so we had no choice but to go outside and throw the beans together.

Bean-throwing in pitch darkness (lol).
As expected, after doing bean-throwing for many years, they seem to have gotten the hang of it, and Otou-oni (Dad-demon) played the demon perfectly.

The children were so excited.
The sound of 'Demons out!' echoing in the darkness, throwing beans at Dad and having fun—to the neighbors, it must look like, 'What is this family doing?'

After throwing the beans, we ate roasted soybeans.
At my age, I don't need the number of years plus one anymore. When I was little, I even envied them for being able to eat so many (lol).

After the bean-throwing, please try reading 'The Father Who Swallowed a Frog' as well.

It's perfect for Setsubun.

Bilingual parenting, no supplementary school, we incorporate Japanese events that we can do at home while having fun. You don't have to try to do everything perfectly; just incorporating even a little bit is very important for bilingual parenting. Knowing Japan and experiencing Japanese events—because we live in Germany, knowing Japan also leads to knowing Germany.

Demons out, good luck in.

See you again.