大寒 - Daikan

Literally "Big Cold", Daikan is the coldest part of the winter before spring, the period from the 20th of January until the 3rd of February, or Setsubun. Our saintly landlord came round last night with a large bowl of Japanese pumpkins. Apparently, if one eats pumpkins on the first night of Daikan, then catching a cold can be avoided all year round. Tune in at the same time next January, when the mettle of this tradition will be scrutinised.