Camellia Tea Ceremony<p>For most communities the New Year began with the first full moon of the first month.</p><p>It was customary to eat 'azuki-gayu' (小豆粥), a rice gruel mixed with red adzuki beans, for health and to exorcise evil spirits.<br>Red was considered a protective colour, especially against disease.</p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/littlenewyear" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>littlenewyear</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/newyear" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>newyear</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/azuki" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>azuki</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/beans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>beans</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/gruel" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>gruel</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Torinin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Torinin</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Myoshinji" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Myoshinji</span></a></p>