suzume
The One Ring
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Posted Fri Oct 19, 2007 12:24 am...
They are a lot of fun no matter ones nationality or religion.
Obon festivals can be found throughout Hawaii communities every year from June to October. They are Japanese cultural events held to remember local history, family, and community.
They're held on school grounds, recreation fields, parks, beaches, and similar facilities. They include traditonal dances, arts, and culture, as well as lots and lots of food, entertainment, fireworks, activities, and floating lanterns.
Obon festivals came to Hawaii with the Japanese immigrants in the era of Hawaii's large plantations and are a focal point of local Japanese communities throughout Hawaii that are enjoyed by everyone. Old Hawaii's plantation culture is often highlighted at a Bon festival, but officially, this is "The Festival of Souls," or "The Feast of the Dead."
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Obon is an annual Buddhist event for commemorating one's ancestors. It is believed that each year during obon, the ancestors' spirits return to this world in order to visit their relatives.
Traditionally, lanterns are hang in front of houses to guide the ancestors' spirits, obon dances (bon odori) are performed, graves are visited and food offerings are made at house altars and temples.
At the end of Obon, floating lanterns are put into rivers, lakes and seas in order to guide the spirits back into their world. The customs followed vary strongly from region to region.
Obon is celebrated from the 13th to the 15th day of the 7th month of the year, which is July according to the solar calendar. However, since the 7th month of the year roughly coincides with August rather than July according to the formerly used lunar calendar, Obon is still celebrated in mid August in many regions of Japan, while it is celebrated in mid July in other regions.
The Obon week in mid August is one of Japan's three major holiday seasons, accompanied by intensive domestic and international travel activities and increased accommodation rates.
In 2008, the peak of the Obon travel season is anticipated to take place between August 12 and 17
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```````````O-bon (お盆, O-bon?) or only Bon (盆, Bon?) is a Japanese Buddhist holiday to honor the departed (deceased) spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist festival has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people from the big cities return to their home towns and visit and clean their ancestors' graves. Traditionally including a dance festival, it has existed in Japan for more than 500 years. It is held from July 13 (August 13 according to the lunar calendar still observed in many regions) to July 15 ("Welcoming Obon" and "Farewell Obon" respectively) in the eastern part of Japan (Kantō), and in August in the western part. In recent years, however, most parts of Tokyo, and by extension, the media, hold Obon in August to coincide with the summer holiday period. Obon shares some similarities with the predominantly Mexican observance of el Da de los Muertos, such as customs involving family reunion and care of ancestors' grave sites.
Obon is a shortened form of the legendary Urabonne/Urabanna (Japanese: 于蘭盆會 or 盂蘭盆會, urabon'e). It is Sanskrit for "hanging upside down in hell and suffering" (Sanskrit:Ullambana). The Japanese believe they should ameliorate the suffering of the "Urabanna".
Bon Odori originates from the story of Mokuren, a disciple of Shakyamuni, who saw a vision of his deceased mother in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts where she was indulging in her own selfishness. Greatly disturbed, he went to the Buddha and asked how he could release his mother from this realm. Buddha instructs him to make offerings to the Sangha on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. The disciple did this and, thus, saw his mother's release. He also began to see the true nature of her past unselfishness and the many sacrifices that she had made for him. The disciple, happy because of his mother's release and grateful for his mother's kindness, danced with joy. From this dance of joy comes Bon Odori or "Bon Dance", a time in which ancestors and their sacrifices are remembered and appreciated. See also: Ullambana Sutra.
Toro Nagashi is the floating of paper lanterns on the last evening of Obon, to guide the spirits in their journey
Bon Odori (盆踊り, meaning simply Bon dance) is an event held during Obon. It is celebrated as a reminder of the gratefulness one should feel toward one's ancestors.
Originally a Nenbutsu folk dance to express the effusive welcome for the spirits of the dead, the style of celebration varies in many aspects from region to region. Each region has a respective local Bon dance, as well as respective music accompanying the dance. The music accompanying the dance can be songs specifically pertinent to the spiritual message of Obon, or local min'yo folk songs. Consequently, the Bon dance will look and sound different from region to region. Hokkaido, or northern Japan, is known for a folk-song known as "Soran Bushi." The song "Tokyo Ondo" needs no explanation. Residents of the Kansai area will recognize the famous "Kawachi Ondo." Tokushima in Shikoku is very famous for its "Awa Odori," or "fool's dance," and in the far south, one can hear the "Ohara Bushi" of Kagoshima, Kyushu.
The way in which the dance is performed is also different in each region, though the typical Bon dance involves people lining up around a high wooden building made especially for the festival called a 'yagura'. The yagura is usually also the bandstand for the musicians and singers of the Obon music. Some dances proceed clockwise, and some dances proceed counter-clockwise around the yagura. Some dances reverse during the dance, though most do not. At times, people face the yagura and move towards and away from it. Still some dances, such as the Kagoshima Ohara dance, and the Tokushima Awa Odori, simply proceed in a straight line through the streets of the
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Festival
```````````````````````````````````````
http://www.champuru.com/08-2002/obon.html
Obon festivals can be found throughout Hawaii communities every year from June to October. They are Japanese cultural events held to remember local history, family, and community.
They're held on school grounds, recreation fields, parks, beaches, and similar facilities. They include traditonal dances, arts, and culture, as well as lots and lots of food, entertainment, fireworks, activities, and floating lanterns.
Obon festivals came to Hawaii with the Japanese immigrants in the era of Hawaii's large plantations and are a focal point of local Japanese communities throughout Hawaii that are enjoyed by everyone. Old Hawaii's plantation culture is often highlighted at a Bon festival, but officially, this is "The Festival of Souls," or "The Feast of the Dead."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~```
Obon is an annual Buddhist event for commemorating one's ancestors. It is believed that each year during obon, the ancestors' spirits return to this world in order to visit their relatives.
Traditionally, lanterns are hang in front of houses to guide the ancestors' spirits, obon dances (bon odori) are performed, graves are visited and food offerings are made at house altars and temples.
At the end of Obon, floating lanterns are put into rivers, lakes and seas in order to guide the spirits back into their world. The customs followed vary strongly from region to region.
Obon is celebrated from the 13th to the 15th day of the 7th month of the year, which is July according to the solar calendar. However, since the 7th month of the year roughly coincides with August rather than July according to the formerly used lunar calendar, Obon is still celebrated in mid August in many regions of Japan, while it is celebrated in mid July in other regions.
The Obon week in mid August is one of Japan's three major holiday seasons, accompanied by intensive domestic and international travel activities and increased accommodation rates.
In 2008, the peak of the Obon travel season is anticipated to take place between August 12 and 17
```````````````````````````````````````````````````
```````````O-bon (お盆, O-bon?) or only Bon (盆, Bon?) is a Japanese Buddhist holiday to honor the departed (deceased) spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist festival has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people from the big cities return to their home towns and visit and clean their ancestors' graves. Traditionally including a dance festival, it has existed in Japan for more than 500 years. It is held from July 13 (August 13 according to the lunar calendar still observed in many regions) to July 15 ("Welcoming Obon" and "Farewell Obon" respectively) in the eastern part of Japan (Kantō), and in August in the western part. In recent years, however, most parts of Tokyo, and by extension, the media, hold Obon in August to coincide with the summer holiday period. Obon shares some similarities with the predominantly Mexican observance of el Da de los Muertos, such as customs involving family reunion and care of ancestors' grave sites.
Obon is a shortened form of the legendary Urabonne/Urabanna (Japanese: 于蘭盆會 or 盂蘭盆會, urabon'e). It is Sanskrit for "hanging upside down in hell and suffering" (Sanskrit:Ullambana). The Japanese believe they should ameliorate the suffering of the "Urabanna".
Bon Odori originates from the story of Mokuren, a disciple of Shakyamuni, who saw a vision of his deceased mother in the Realm of Hungry Ghosts where she was indulging in her own selfishness. Greatly disturbed, he went to the Buddha and asked how he could release his mother from this realm. Buddha instructs him to make offerings to the Sangha on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. The disciple did this and, thus, saw his mother's release. He also began to see the true nature of her past unselfishness and the many sacrifices that she had made for him. The disciple, happy because of his mother's release and grateful for his mother's kindness, danced with joy. From this dance of joy comes Bon Odori or "Bon Dance", a time in which ancestors and their sacrifices are remembered and appreciated. See also: Ullambana Sutra.
Toro Nagashi is the floating of paper lanterns on the last evening of Obon, to guide the spirits in their journey
Bon Odori (盆踊り, meaning simply Bon dance) is an event held during Obon. It is celebrated as a reminder of the gratefulness one should feel toward one's ancestors.
Originally a Nenbutsu folk dance to express the effusive welcome for the spirits of the dead, the style of celebration varies in many aspects from region to region. Each region has a respective local Bon dance, as well as respective music accompanying the dance. The music accompanying the dance can be songs specifically pertinent to the spiritual message of Obon, or local min'yo folk songs. Consequently, the Bon dance will look and sound different from region to region. Hokkaido, or northern Japan, is known for a folk-song known as "Soran Bushi." The song "Tokyo Ondo" needs no explanation. Residents of the Kansai area will recognize the famous "Kawachi Ondo." Tokushima in Shikoku is very famous for its "Awa Odori," or "fool's dance," and in the far south, one can hear the "Ohara Bushi" of Kagoshima, Kyushu.
The way in which the dance is performed is also different in each region, though the typical Bon dance involves people lining up around a high wooden building made especially for the festival called a 'yagura'. The yagura is usually also the bandstand for the musicians and singers of the Obon music. Some dances proceed clockwise, and some dances proceed counter-clockwise around the yagura. Some dances reverse during the dance, though most do not. At times, people face the yagura and move towards and away from it. Still some dances, such as the Kagoshima Ohara dance, and the Tokushima Awa Odori, simply proceed in a straight line through the streets of the
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Festival
```````````````````````````````````````
http://www.champuru.com/08-2002/obon.html