Bon Festival (2004-08-13)
August 13-16 is the Obon or Bon Festival. Buddhist legend has it that on August 15 (July15 on the lunar calendar in the old time) Hell opens up for the deceased and spirits. Buddhist services are held in temples or even homes and special food is prepared as an offering for them. Lanterns are also lit outside houses for the spirits of ancestors to find their way home and at the conclusion of the Obon Festival, laterns are floated on rivers at night to guide their way back to where they came from. Seeing a parade of lit paper laterns flowing gently down a river is visually romantic and yet spooky because of the ghosts and spirits they are supposed to attract.
Since many Japanese people go back to their home towns in the country to visit families and relatives and to pay respect to their ancestral graves, the streets seem to be less crowded in Tokyo during Obon. Some people also make use of this extended holiday to go traveling. KL doesn't get any days off during Obon (What's new?) but we do have dinner reservation at my favorite French restaurant tomorrow. We'll be celebrating this holiday with a tasty meal.
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