Bon Festival is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor dead loved ones and ancestors.This is quite similar of The Philippines”ALL SOULS DAY”where japanese communities celebrate by going back to their homeland and clean the grave’s of their departed loved ones and offer prayers.
Rituals of Obon comes with the dancing, wearing kimonos or yukatas (a light cotton kimono-similar to kimono but more wearable during summer time because of the heat)
Bon Odori(Bon Dance)is a kind of dance to welcome the spirits of the dead that is believed to come during Obon and that spirits of the ancestors supposed to revisit their house altars(in Japanese Buddhist costum there is always an altar at home for the deceased loved ones).By the third day it is said that they will go back to the heavens and therefore the familys who are alive on earth offers a cheer for them to have a happy departure.
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| A typical Bon dance that involves people lining up in a circle around a (yagura) |
As a mark to end the Bon Festival ,small paper lantern is lit and set afloat to a river,lake or sea.Their light is intended to guide the way of the deceased spirits.Usually families writes a message on it.
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| Lanterns that are lit up and set afloat to a river |
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