Freezing wintertime weather doesn’t deter the Japanese from having a good time, as many lively and colorful festivals were held throughout the week. Here are just a few:

The Kamikura shrine in Shingu, Wakayama Prefecture held its Light Festival, which dates from about 1,400 years ago. A swarm of 2,200 men dressed in white and carrying torches, representing divine fire, gathered on the side of Mt. Kamikura, which has a large rock that is the shrine deity. They took off down the hill shouting, “Wo, Wo”, descending down a 538-step path, their lanterns creating a waterfall of fire in the darkness.

Nishiki-mura in Akita Prefecture held another nighttime festival by releasing paper hot air balloons to pray for a bountiful harvest and safety in the home. The balloons, ranging in size from 3-14 meters high, are decorated with colorful pictures of samurai or ukiyo-e illustrations. They are heated with gas burners, and the cloth at the openings is soaked in oil and ignited. The balloons are then released into the night air, soaring upward and eventually burning.

No one is sure how the festival originated, but legend has it that it begin the middle of the Edo period (1600-1868) when a scientist from Edo (Tokyo) employed to provide technical guidance at a local mine conceived of the event as a way to have some winter fun. About 10,000 people witnessed the spectacle this year.

Meanwhile, down south in Nagasaki, the Lantern Festival began on the Lunar New Year and will continue until the 23rd. The sound of gongs after 5:00 p.m. in a local park was the signal for the start of a ceremony to light the 12,000 Chinese lanterns hung throughout the city. Nagasaki resounded to fireworks explosions timed to go off as the lanterns were lit. Typical of the area, the festival features events with a Chinese flavor, including an ancient lion dance and a dragon dance. It has been held since the opening of the port of Nagasaki in 1571.

The Tomisaki Shinto shrine in Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture previewed its Biggu Hina Matsuri by displaying 1,200 dolls on a platform with 60 tiers leading to the shrine torii. Young shrine maidens also performed dances. The main Hina Matsuri, or doll festival, will be held from the 26th to March 6th, with 8,000 dolls exhibited in the civic center lobby and a total of 20,000 dolls on display throughout the city. Last year’s festival attracted more than 150,000 people.

Hina Matsuri are held throughout the country and in family homes on March 3, known as Girls’ Day. The dolls are dressed as emperor, empress, attendants, and musicians. The modern doll festival dates from the early Edo period.

Festivals also can be dangerous, as the people in Kiwada, Osaka, found out. Participants in the Danjiri Festival set off large firecrackers packed with aluminum tape because the tape makes the explosions especially loud and bright, and it looks terrific shooting out from the force of the blast. Unfortunately, the tape shot out of the firecrackers and got tangled up with power lines, shorting them out and causing burns and other injuries to three onlookers. It also hung suspended from power lines and came in contact with the earth, igniting paper confetti and garbage. The 1,000 people witnessing the event panicked when they got minor electrical shocks. In addition, a power outage knocked out electricity to 1,000 households for about two hours due to the short circuits.