Feb 3 is the eve of the first day of spring. Since the first day of spring used to be the first day of the new year according to the Chinese calendar, it was necessary to cleanse the house by chasing away all the bad luck before the new year. Japanese families open all the doors and windows of their homes and chant oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi (Out with demons! In with good luck!), while they throw roasted soybeans into the rooms and out the windows and doorways.. The custom of throwing beans was brought back to Japan by a Japanese envoy to China during the Tang Dynasty. Usually family members pick up from inside the house and eat the same number of beans as their age.
