Japanese New Year traditions, Dondo-yaki

All the items related to kami such as the shimenawa, the lucky charms or the New Year decorations, are never thrown away but are collected at shrines during the first days of the year and burned at the beginning of January, in a ritual fire named Dondo Yaki.

According to the Japanese tradition, the lucky charms are "working" only during the current year, and burning them signifies the desire to move forward, leaving the past behind…