Culture and customs of Japan's "Chuneen Festival" - Bon Festival: welcome the soul to send God, ball festival

The golden wind sends you to the Bon Festival, and the incense and money are all over the beach; the smoke rises up from the sky, and the young and old on earth hope for peace.

In ancient China, the fifteenth day of January, July and October was called Shangyuan, Zhongyuan and Xiayuan. The first one is a celebration of the Lantern Festival, which has been around for a long time; the second one is a festival of honoring the ancestors and sacrificing to them; and the third one is a festival of eating cold food in memory of the great masters of the world.

Yesterday was the 15th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar, which is also the traditional festival of the Chinese people to honor their ancestors, pay tribute to them and carry forward the good deeds of charity.

The festival is commonly known as the Ghost Festival, Shi lone, half of the seventh month, Buddhism is called the Bon Festival, while the festival is called the Taoist, in our country has more than 2,000 years of history, the main customary activities are ancestor worship, put the river lanterns, rituals for the dead souls, burning paper ingots, and sacrifices to the land and so on.

The festival is one of the four major traditional ancestor festivals in China, along with New Year's Eve, Qingming Festival and Chongyang Festival, and in May 2010, the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China (PRC) selected Hong Kong's declaration of "Zhongyuan Festival (Bon Festival of the Chiu Chow People)" to be included in the list of the intangible cultural heritage of the PRC.

Like the Tanabata Festival, the Mid-Yuan Festival is also celebrated in Japan, which is on the same coast as us, although it is generally known as the Bon Festival.

Japanese Bon Festival

Japanese Bon Festival originated in China and was introduced to Japanese Buddhist temples in the middle of the 7th century, then entered the court and penetrated the folklore.

Today, Bon has become an important holiday in Japan, second only to New Year's Day (the equivalent of our Spring Festival), and businesses and corporations generally take a one- to two-week vacation, called "Obon Hurray," to allow people who work outside the country to return to their homes to pay homage to their ancestors, and to reunite with their families.

The timing of the Bon Festival varies slightly from region to region because each region uses a different calendar (e.g., the new calendar, the old calendar). It is usually celebrated between August 13th and August 16th, and in some regions between July 13th and July 16th. In this case, the one in July is called (New Bonsai) and the one in August is called (Old Bonsai), and the old bonsai is generally celebrated.

So, how is Bon celebrated in Japan? What are the customs and activities?

Bon Eating

Peony Cakes

During the Bon Festival, people in Japan eat peony cakes made of a mixture of steamed rice and glutinous rice with red beans and other fillings, which are used to ward off evil spirits and to bring in a good harvest.

Seishin cuisine

In addition to oyster cakes, people also eat "seishin cuisine," which in Buddhism means to practice with one's mind, and vegetarianism is considered to be a form of practice. Therefore, "Seishin Cuisine" avoids large quantities of meat and fish, and the food is prepared in such a way that it can be eaten directly in the mouth. Generally, it is a coarse diet of vegetables, mountain vegetables, and cereals, basically two soups and five dishes, or the usual vegetarian noodles and red beans and rice.

Bon Customs

Hanging Decorations

July 13 and August 13 are the days of Obon, when people in Japan hang decorations such as lanterns in front of their homes, and make quadrupedal animals out of cucumbers, eggplants and toothpicks. The cucumber is called a genie horse, which means that the deceased and ancestors can arrive home early on the fast-footed horse when they return home. The one made of eggplant is called elf cow, which means that the deceased and the ancestors can ride the slow-footed cow when they leave home, and they can enjoy the scenery while leaving slowly.

Greeting Fire

During the Bon Festival in Japan, usually on the evening of the 13th, people light fires (greeting fires) at the Buddhist altar in their homes, at the entrance to their homes, in their yards, or in front of cemeteries as a sign of the way to help the spirits of their ancestors find their way home. In recent years, since it is not possible to burn a fire at the assembled dwellings, people have been using lanterns or collectively burning a fire by the river instead.

Tomb-sweeping

August 15 is the main day for tomb-sweeping. Adults and children clean the graves of their ancestors with dust brushes and rags, pull out weeds around the graves, and tell the children stories about the past.

Send off the sacred fire and bon dance

August 16 is the day to send off the spirits of the ancestors, and on this night, people put on kimonos, hold fans, and gather around to dance the bon dance. After the dance, they also light lamps (shinto flames) to light the way back for their ancestors.

Nowadays, the bon dance in many places has been added to the elements of regional activation and urban revitalization, and is generally performed as a show at regional events. In some places, it has even been separated from its original purpose and has gradually evolved into a lively summer event in each region. Among them, the Awa Odori dance of Tokushima Prefecture, the Nishimayone Bon Odori dance of Akita Prefecture, and the Korokami Hachiman Bon Odori dance of Gifu Prefecture are called the three major bon dances of Japan, and have become one of the traditional cultures of Japan.

Shopping and Gourmet Food

Because of the long holiday period for Obon, it is a good time for young and old to get together. So many places take the opportunity to hold food festivals, and it can be quite fun and relaxing to walk down the food court at night, wearing a beautiful yukata and picking out your favorite foods.

Additionally, unlike the serious and deep atmosphere of our Chinese New Year's Day, the atmosphere of Japan's Bon Festival is light and lively. Many places hold lantern festivals, which are very lively.

Famous Bon Festivals

Hokkaido - Sapporo Summer Festival

Hokkaido's summer festival consists of two major events, the Sapporo International Beer Festival and the Hokkaido Bon Dance. During the Bon Festival, people can enjoy Sapporo draft beer at Japan's largest open-air beer stadium and dance the Bon-Dance together in yukata.

Echinanaka Yatsuo - Owarakaze no Bon

Every year during the festival, the area is swarming with tens of thousands of sightseers. The whole town, from children to the elderly, takes part in the festival, and the 11 town halls spread out across the town take turns performing their own unique dances.

Kyoto - Gokayama no Yoriyama

The most famous summer festival is the Kyoto Gokayama no Yoriyama. The most famous of them is the "Dai" of Kisaragatake in Higashiyama.

There are also the "Dai" characters of Kinkakuji Daikokuyama, the "Myoho" characters of Matsuzaki Nishiyama and Higashiyama, the "boat-shaped" pattern of Nishiga Shigeru Funayama, and the "torii-shaped" pattern of Saga Mandala Mountain.