when is the obon festival celebrated
While people certainly visit graves outside of Obon season, this time of year is when its most important. This is known as Obon Light. She is very open to requests for additional experiences which require research on her part to arrange. of an actual attorney. The most distinctive offerings are cucumbers and eggplants made into the shapes of horses and cows respectively. Ky Bon (Old Bon) is celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, and so differs each year, which appears between August 8 and September 7. Believe it or not, Bon Odori isnt limited to Obon Festival music. They spend the next few days thanking their ancestors, eating together and deepening their bonds. form. We had contacted Asia Highlights to organise our trip for us. While to western sensibilities, the idea of worship implies a religious connection, as anthropologist Jason Danely has put it, ancestor memorial is such a common-sense and mundane practice that, for most people, it is indistinguishable from the non-religious world.. We also got to experience Japanese Tea ceremony, Sushi making, Sake tasting, shopping etc.We highly recommend Asia Highlights for your travel needs. This festival is about honoring ones ancestors, and its traditionally celebrated by people in Japan. Japan's famous high-speed trains see a lot of traffic between August 8 and 16 as Japanese people travel back home for the holiday and then back to the cities for work. In California, due to the diffusion of Japanese immigration, Bon Odori dances also differ from Northern to Southern California, and some are influenced by American culture, such as "Baseball Ondo". May 2019, Jennifer Roth Krieger, We left home with of mind because all the pre-travel arrangements were taking care and communicate to us efficiently. Today, modern Japanese homes include a smaller, simpler version of a, Another way the Japanese honor the dead is through. Celebrate Obon, an ancient Japanese custom honoring one's ancestors and their spirits. Rather, the Japanese seek to welcome the souls of their ancestors by preparing delicacies and performing Bon Odori. My daughter and I wanted to discover SE Asia. use of cookies. These few days are one of the short national holidays during which the Japanese gather with their families to commemorate their deceased relatives and their ancestors. Pitri Paksha is considered by Hindus to be inauspicious, given the death rite known as rddha or Tarpana performed during the ceremony. We saw things we would never have otherwise seen, if Fuki had not been there. While it might seem like the return of the dead is a somber, scary occasion, this couldnt be further from the truth. Buddha advised Mokuren to make offerings to Buddhist monks. Shops will be closed Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday as they are holidays. Obon - also known as Bon Matsuri, or the Bon Festival - is an annual celebration that's dedicated to honoring loved ones who have passed on. During these times, offerings are made at family altars. Obon ( ), also known as the Bon festival, is a Buddhist summer celebration held once a year to commemorate the Japanese people's ancestors. Each year during Obon, it is believed that the souls of the ancestors return to our world to visit their families. Although its a festival cherishing death, Obon is more fun than creepy. The festival has spread to other countries mainly through Japanese immigration, with the first American Obon Festival being observed in Hawaii in 1910. Well planned trip by Alisa . She was extremely responsive, taking into account all of our requests and worked closely with us, it wasn't just selecting from one of several pre-developed itineraries. On August 16, which marks the end of the festival, they have a bonfire, sending the spirits back to their world. This link will open in a new window. The freshly cleaned home is a pure space for ancestors to enjoy. He brought the dessert she asked about to us in the car! On the final day of the Obon Festival, families help their ancestors spirits return to the grave. Obon takes place over three days and is usually observed in mid-August. Twitter. Obon in 2022 will begin on Saturday, August 13, and end on Monday, August 15. Oktoberfest (German pronunciation: [ktobfst]; Bavarian: Wiesn, Oktobafest) is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival.It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, running from mid- or late-September to around the first Sunday in October, with more than six million international and national visitors attending the event. Apr 2023, Isabelle Dessaux, It's likely that hotel prices will be higher than normal during Obon and it will be necessary to book all tickets and rooms well in advance. I will definitely use Asia Highlights again for my next trip to Asia. Exceptions occurred in 2008 and 2019, when the solar and lunar calendar matched, and so Hachigatsu Bon and Ky Bon were celebrated on the same day. [25] The participants, Japanese descendants and the people of all races, dance in a big circle around the yagura, the central tower set up for the dance, from which recorded songs are broadcast and, most of the time, the taiko group accompany the songs playing drums. Visiting graveyards is common in Japan, and many people use this as an opportunity to talk to ancestors and report to them about family news. In the middle of a square is a platform on which, usually, someone leads a song and the participants dance around it to the beat of Japanese taiko drums. Cleaning the home after a death removes any negative energy or spirits. In some parts of Japan, people release floating lanterns into the sky or down a river. On the first day of Obon, people take the chochin lanterns to the graves of their families. Another ritual is the ceremonial service for the deceased known as Obon Ake or Okuribon and finally, Okuribi which is the send-off ritual where people float lanterns or release them towards the sky. He was knowledgeable, friendly and so helpful. Your personal travel advisor Public transport may be busier than normal as many people take a vacation during this period and return to their family homes. Today, the dates of the festival have been converted to a standard solar calendar date and while most regions of Japan celebrate from the 13th-15th of August, there are some regions that celebrate in July depending on their interpretation of the original lunar calendar. Though altars to the dead have been commonplace in Buddhism for thousands of years, they didnt become mainstream in homes until the 17th century. They donate flowers, candles, incense sticks, and fruits to local temples and at altars. That being said, youll also find Obon celebrated in other parts of the globe. He discovered she had fallen into the Realm of Hungry Ghosts and was suffering. Obon is also about traditional Japanese food. We will use Asian highlights for all of our trips to Asia. While cleaning the graves, some may talk to their ancestors and update them on events that have occurred over the previous year including births and marriages. The festival fused the ancient Japanese ideas of respecting the ancestral spirits with the Buddhist idea of saving those who have fallen into gaki-do (the way of hungry ghosts) through a memorial service. [28], "Obon" redirects here. These small acts are believed to bring prosperity in the. In addition to sweeping tombs, people also place these offerings in front of Buddhist niches in their homes. This involves prayers and the careful washing of the tombstone. As such, the entire goal of the Obon Festival is to free ancestors from their pain in the spirit realm. As a social and cultural psychologist, I have researched peoples pilgrimages to graves of the war dead in Japan and in the UK. Learning this news, the disciple became distressed. This is a large family holiday and many Japanese people will travel to their family homes, clean the graves of ancestors, and leave offerings at Buddhist shrines. At the end of the Obon festival, families help their ancestors spirits return back to the grave by guiding them with their chochin lanterns. Don't hang your clothes out at night strange ghosts may take your clothes to wear. 1225 Estabrook Dr., Saint Paul, Minnesota 55103. Because of this, youll find Obon Festivals in other countries of the world, though often by another name. Theyre lit with candles and incense, and flowers are offered regularly as a sign of respect. On the last day of Obon, one is supposed to see off their ancestors by releasing sky lanterns or by burning a bonfire. There are also special requirements for the offerings at the Obon altar. All Japanese celebrations include special, traditional foods, and these vary depending on the location youre in. It has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon Odori. Instead, its a way to imply pain and suffering of spirits. Usage of any form or other service on our website is . After spreading through China and South Asia, it eventually arrived in Japan. As mentioned before, this festival originated in India and spread to Japan. You may also consider learning the traditional folk dance, Bon Odori, and joining in with the dancers. . Despite these changes, obon, like ohigan, remains an integral cultural and social practice, linking people to their family and their ancestors. The dance of a region can depict the area's history and specialization. More recently, the holiday has become a time for family reunions, as people return to their hometowns and revisit the graves of the deceased. advice. They are known as spirit mounts for the ancestors. On the 15th day of the 7th month, he followed Buddhas advice and his mother was released from her suffering. When Is Obon Festival? If theres one thing to learn, its that reflecting on death brings people closer to life. When the lunar calendar was changed to the Gregorian calendar at the beginning of the Meiji era, the localities in Japan responded differently, which resulted in three different times of Obon. At Asia Highlights, we are committed to providing you a premium, quality private [21][22] Bon festivals are usually scheduled anytime between July and September. Although this holiday may sound a little somber to Westerners, Obon is actually a happy and joyous festival filled with dancing, street food, and celebrations. Serene, Alisa was our advisor from Asia highlights and she prepared for us a wonderful 28 day trip to Japan, taking into consideration our needs and desire not to be traveling everyday and to have a mixture of slow and busy days. Some require the use of small wooden clappers, or "kachi-kachi", during the dance. Jump ahead to these sections: What Is Obon Festival? The word Obon is derived from the Sanskrit term Ullambana which means to hang upside down.. Shewas available during our trip to answer our questions and readily agreed to the itinerary changes.Everything was arranged - accommodation,breakfast, guide, car, entrance fees and train tickets. It is the equivalent of the Western or Christian's All Soul's Day except that Obon is a 3 day . I definitely recommend this company and if you can ask to work with Alisa. From this dance of joy comes the Bon Odori or "Bon Dance", a time during which ancestors and their sacrifices are remembered and appreciated. 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