What do they do at the Obon festival?

What do they do at the Obon festival?

During Obon, there are traditionally lanterns that are hung in front of houses, dances that are performed, and offerings(ozen) that are put out in front of altars, temples, and sometimes grave sites. Many people will also visit grave sites to clean and wash grave stones and grave markers of their family.

What are 5 traditions of the Obon festival?

Families place offerings of fruit, rice, green tea, sake and lotus-shaped sweets at the graves or family altars. Paper lanterns are hung round the house to help guide the spirits home. Some families carry lanterns from the graves back to their homes.

What are Obon festival foods?

Obon Festival Foods Street foods like okonomiyaki (savory pancakes), takoyaki (octopus balls), and yakitori (chicken skewers) are all popular. Treats like uji-kintoki (sweetened shaved ice) and dango (sweet dumplings) are other festival favorites.

What does the Obon festival honor?

Obon (お盆) or just Bon (盆) is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one’s ancestors. Shichigatsu Bon (Bon in July) is based on the solar calendar and is celebrated around the 15th of July in eastern Japan (Kantō region such as Tokyo, Yokohama and the Tōhoku region), coinciding with Chūgen.

Is Obon a Shinto?

Obon festivals range in style from the solemn to the spry, from quiet visits to family graves to lively dancing and parades of floats, fireworks, or paper boats drifting down a river. The origins of the festivals lie in Shinto, a native Japanese “way of life” that celebrates nature.

What season is Obon held in?

Obon is observed around the 15th day of the 7th month of the year, which is July according to the solar calendar; however, it roughly corresponds to August according to the formerly used lunar calendar. As a result, Obon is mainly observed from August 13 to 16, although in some areas it is also observed in mid July.

How does Japan honor the dead?

The majority of funerals (葬儀, sōgi or 葬式, sōshiki) in Japan include a wake, the cremation of the deceased, a burial in a family grave, and a periodic memorial service. According to 2007 statistics, 99.81% of deceased Japanese are cremated.

Who started Obon?

Maha Maudgalyayana
The Buddha instructed his disciple to make offerings on the 15th day of the 7th month to Buddhist monks returning from their summer retreat. By doing so, Maha Maudgalyayana was able to free his mother, after which he danced with joy. This dance is said to be the origin of the Obon festival.

What do Obon people wear?

People prefer wearing Yukata especially on the nights of Bon-odori, fireworks display, and various kinds of summer festival, although usually only women wear Yukata, but men. Fireworks display (Hanabi-taikai) constitute a typical summer scene.

What do red lanterns mean in Japan?

Chochin are Japanese lanterns that have been crafted in Japan as far back as 1085. They are particularly associated with traditional drinking spots such as izakaya that usually have a red chochin out front with the name of the business written in shoji calligraphy.

Does Japan have a day of the Dead?

Obon is one of Japan’s most important festivals and is celebrated over 3 days in mid-August or July depending on the region. Obon, sometimes just called Bon, is a Buddhist festival that celebrates the time when the spirits are able to return to Earth and be with their families. …

What happens on the first day of Obon?

On the first day of Obon, people take the chochin lanterns to the graves of their families. They call their ancestors’ spirits back home in a ritual called mukae-bon. In some regions, huge fires are lit at the entrances of houses to guide the spirits to enter.