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Laughing festival in Yamaguchi Pref.

HOFU, Japan - Waraiko, a rare festival in which residents laugh off the sadness and pain of the year, is held in the Omata district in the city of Hofu in Yamaguchi Prefecture in western Japan on Dec. 7, 2014. The festival is said to have been held for 800 years in the district.

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Laughing festival in Yamaguchi Pref.

HOFU, Japan - Waraiko, a rare festival in which residents laugh off the sadness and pain of the year, is held in the Omata district in the city of Hofu in Yamaguchi Prefecture in western Japan on Dec. 7, 2014. The festival is said to have been held for 800 years in the district.

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Year-end laughing festival in western Japan

The Waraiko festival is held in a farming area in western Japan on Dec. 6, 2015, in which residents in formal attire let out three huge laughter -- first to thank the year's harvest, second to wish for good crops in the coming year and third to laugh off the sadness and pain of the year. The festival in the Omata district in the city of Hofu in Yamaguchi Prefecture is said to have been held for 800 years. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Laughing festival in Yamaguchi Pref.

HOFU, Japan - Waraiko, a rare festival in which residents laugh off the sadness and pain of the year, is held in the Omata district in the city of Hofu in Yamaguchi Prefecture in western Japan on Dec. 7, 2014. The festival is said to have been held for 800 years in the district. (Kyodo)