Posted on July 13, 2021
Key Points
This is an update of my post published on July 13, 2010:
NOTE: Different cities and regions in Japan use different festival calendars, so only some regions celebrate Obon today.
During Obon Japanese Buddhists honor their ancestors in a variety of ways: they return to their ancestral homes, they clean the graves of their ancestors, and they float lit-up paper lanterns down rivers. There is a special Bon dance to show gratitude for the ancestors, and some people make offerings to them.
Of course,
some enjoyment-of-the-living traditions have developed, too, including family get-togethers, special food, fireworks, and giant carnivals with rides.For more info on this holiday, check this website out.
Here is a video of the Bon dance…
…And this tells a little bit more about the lantern-festival part of the holiday.
If you like Manga, you might want to check out this video Manga story.
Catch the Obon spirit.
Look at photos of your ancestors (grandparents, great-grandparents), and revive the old family stories of what they did and how they lived.
Learn about Japan.
Eat
Japanese food.Learn to draw Manga using
this YouTube video or any video by Mark Crilley.Also on this date:
Gruntled Workers Day
French Fries Day
Statehood Day in Montenegro
Rubik’s Cube inventor Erno Rubik’s birthday
Embrace Your Geekness Day
International Sister Cities Day
Birthday of educator, lawmaker, and women’s rights proponent Emma Asson
Carver Day
International Rock Day
National Nitrogen Ice Cream Day
Plan ahead:
Check out my Pinterest boards for:
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July holidays
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July birthdays
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Historical anniversaries in July
And here are my Pinterest boards for:
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August holidays
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August birthdays
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Historical anniversaries in August
