「レッツゴー キャム！」Cam, Ikuzo! Come follow Camden’s journey! March 2023

Last month I found out about the Japanese tradition “Setsubun” for the first time, and participated in the festival at Matsudo Shrine. I had heard a little bit about Setsubun beforehand, and based on what I was told I imagined that beans would be passed around to everyone in the crowd, and that we would be the ones throwing them at an “oni” (demon) that appears on the stage. So I was very surprised when suddenly there were all kinds of foods flying at my head.

Setsubun is an event held in early February for expelling the oni (most famously by throwing beans) that is said to appear at the changing of the seasons. As for why it is held in February, that is because until the Edo period ended, spring started on the 4th of February in the old calendar. Those who participate in this event and receive the beans and other foods that are thrown are said to be blessed with good fortune.

Coincidentally, there is also a day in America and Canada with an interesting superstition around the same time, on February 2nd. It’s called “Groundhog Day,” where an animal called a groundhog awakes from its hibernation, goes outside and sees its own shadow, which startles it and the groundhog goes back into its hole. In cases like this with a clear sky, it is said that winter will continue for 6 more weeks. But if the groundhog does not see its own shadow due to a cloudy sky or poor weather, then it is said that spring will come early. It appears that this superstition originates from Germany where instead the badger was the forecasting animal.

February 2nd is not really a day of celebration, so there were no events or festivities for this day, but in elementary school even though probably no one had actually seen a groundhog, every year the groundhog’s prediction was talked about among all the students.

By the way, another name for groundhog is “woodchuck.” In elementary school, everyone learned about this animal through a famous tongue twister, which goes as follows:

“How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”

Try to see how fast you can say it!

先月初めて日本の節分を知り、松戸神社の節分祭に参加しました。節分の話を少し聞いていたので、集まった人に豆が配られ、ステージの上に現れる鬼に対して豆をまくのだと思っていたが、突然私の頭にいろいろな食べ物が飛んできたことに非常に驚きました。

節分というのは季節の変わり目に生じる鬼を祓う行事です。何故2月に行うというと、江戸時代以降の暦で立春は2月4日のころでした。この行事に参加する人に幸運を授けると言われています。

偶然にもアメリカとカナダで立春の時期に行う面白い迷信があります。それはグラウンドホッグデーといって、グラウンドホッグという動物は、2月2日に冬眠から目覚めるが、外に出て自分の影を見ると驚いて巣穴に戻ってしまうとされており、春の到来時期は、晴天（影を見た）の場合は、冬があと6週間はつづくだろう、雲や悪天候（影が見えない）場合は、春は間近に迫っていると占われます。ドイツにも同じ日にアナグマデーというのがあり、そこから生まれた迷信のようです。2月2日は、特に祝う日ではないからイベントなど何もしていなかったのですが、小学生のころ、誰もグラウンドホッグを見ていないはずなのに、毎年そのグラウンドホッグがどうなるかの予想が生徒の中で話題になりました。

ちなみに、グラウンドホッグの別名はwoodchuck（ウッドチャック）です。小学生の時に学校で有名な早口言葉を教えてもらい、みんなこの動物を知りました。

“How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”

意味は「もしウッドチャックが木を投げることができるなら、どのくらい投げるんだろう？」に近いです。

みんな、英語を勉強してぜひ言ってみてね！