Little similarities

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In all parts of the world, apparently, people feel the need to perform some activity, semi-naked, during the coldest time of the year. Purification, toughening up, you name it... You can see, for instance, my brother joining the "cimento invernale" (winter ordeal), which consists in swimming in the sea at the beginning of January.
And you can see the Dontosai festival held at the Hachiman shrine in Sendai where workers of firms and offices first walk with very little on for 45 min and then throw the New Year's decorations into a big fire. The main difference is that the Japanese have a piece of paper in their mouth on their way to the fire (some say not to breathe against the kami, other to prevent small talk), whereas the Genoese do not ;-)

Mine are just iPhone pics, but Jeroen took beautiful pictures of this event - I hope he will post them on this blog later. Bye for now!

Comments

  1. Anonymous17 January 2019 at 13:27

    Thank you for sharing these nice blog posts. They are very interesting. It's almost like being with you. I look forward to reading more. Beatrice

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. chiararobbiano17 January 2019 at 19:54

      Grazie, mia cara Beatrice - a big hug from us!

      Delete

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