Obon is a Japanese festival that allows families to reunite with their spirited loved ones. It is a public holiday, so most people take half days or leave to visit their ancestral homes.
This yearly festival honors spirits and allows families to welcome their ancestral spirits back to the world. The most crucial part of the festival is to leave an abundance of food offerings at the Buddhist altars for the revenants.
When will the Japanese celebrate Obon 2025?
Japan’s prime festival is commemorated for 3 days in mid-July or August, depending on the region you belong to. The celebrations for Obon 2025 will begin from August 13 to 15 in Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo. However, the festival date may vary among other regions.
In other regions like Aomori Prefecture, the Tohoku Region, and Okinawa, Obon is celebrated in July. With this festival not being an official holiday, people usually take a whole week off and return from vacations and work to spend time with their families. The whole week is called an Obon week.
How Do They Celebrate the Obon Festival?
The Buddhist festival begins with people cleaning their homes and preparing offerings for the spirits. It is a celebration of three days, i.e., August 13, August 14, and August 15. In addition, the festivities differ each day, so let’s see what they do on these specific days.
August 13
This Obon’s first day is when people guide spirits home. They hang red and white lanterns on the streets, doorways, homes, and graves to guide their deceased family members back home.
Moreover, mukaebi, or a giant fire, is lit to guide the spirits, and some people create an altar to provide offerings to their ancestors.
August 14
Buddhist monks are usually invited to visit people’s homes, and people also visit shrines and temples for prayers. What’s more, Bon Odori is a traditional dance activity, which is a traditional Japanese folk dance performed in shrines, gardens, or parks. Vegetarian meals are served on this day.
August 15
This Obon’s last day is all about saying goodbye to the revenants. More lanterns are hung, and bonfires are lit to see off spirits and guide them back to their resting place.
Moreover, Toro Nagashi is a festival celebrated in some countries where floating candles are released in the lakes and rivers to guide the spirit back into their world.
Obon Festival – Origin
The festival originated from Maha Maudgalyayana (Mokuren), a Buddhist, who used his supernatural powers to ease the suffering of his deceased mother. He tried to feed his mother through his powers, but to his surprise, he couldn’t.
He asked another Buddha about relieving his mother’s sufferings, to which he was instructed to provide offerings on the 7th month. Mokuren followed the Buddha’s advice and sought relief for his mother. He was joyous and danced happily; thus, this joyous dance is called Bon dance or Bon Odori.
Obon Festival – Popular Traditions
The Obon festival is also called the Bon festival, which allows people to slow down, remember the deceased, and connect with the other members of the family. These are the traditions of celebrating the Obon festival:
Offering Sacrifices
People offer sacrifices like fruits and flowers to the deceased ancestors. Flowers like lotus, gentian, Obon lily, and chrysanthemum are brought to the cemeteries or family altars.
Cucumber horses and eggplant cows are also offered. As horses are fast and cows are a bit slow, that symbolizes that their ancestors will come fast to meet them and will go back slowly to their resting place.
Sweeping Graves
Visiting and sweeping the graves is a tradition to honor the dead. So people sweep their ancestors’ graves to welcome the souls of their loved ones.
Gift Giving
This festival instigates people to show love, kindness, and appreciation to the ones who have taken care of you all this time. Gifts are usually given to colleagues, friends, and family.
Bon Odori
A gesture inspired by Mokuren is a Bon dance that is performed at night. People wearing kimonos usually dance to the beats of Japanese taiko drums.
Serving of Vegetarian Meals
It is a tradition to avoid seafood and meat items. Only vegetarian options are allowed for three days and for three meals a day.
Bottom line
The Obon Festival blends celebrations and memory. Obon is all about the drums echoing and the lanterns glowing at night, while reuniting with the alive and deceased family members.