December: “maneki” on New Year rice cakes, hanakanzashi

Each December, official debut kabuki performances are held at the Minami-za theatre in Kyoto. There are traditional noticeboards at the venue, known as maneki, carrying the names of the debut performers.
During the period in which the debut performances are being held, there is an event known as Kagaisouken, in which the geisha and maiko of the five geisha districts come to watch the performance. The maiko wear hairpins decorated with their own small “maneki” and, when they go to pay their respects to the actors backstage, the actors write their names on the maiko’s blank maneki.