Happy Obon!

Tomorrow kicks off another crazy holiday in Japan!  Obon is one of the most important Japanese celebrations.  It is an annual Buddhist event commemorating one’s ancestors. It is believed that each year during Obon, the ancestors’ spirits return to this world in order to visit their still-living relatives.

Therefore, Japanese people should go back to their hometown on the evening of August 13th and hang a lighted lantern outside to welcome the spirits.  People focus on loved ones who have passed, often holding family reunions in their ancestral homes so they can celebrate the spirits of their ancestors during their return. Families also spend time visiting and cleaning grave sites, lighting incense, and leaving food offerings for when the spirits arrive!

Celebrations may include festivals, dancing, games, rides, and fireworks.  They generally end on August 16th with floating paper lanterns in a river to guide the ancestral spirits back to the world of dead.

Many companies in Japan, including all schools and Toyota, had the entire week preceding Obon off from work.  (Mitsui was still working, but half of my department took it off anyway.)  In recent years, however, many people skip the traditional meaning and use this as a vacation period.  Therefore, it has become one of the 3 major travel periods, along with Golden Week in May and New Year festivities.

I'll guess we'll all just have to wait and see what this weekend brings for me ;)