Obon

Mom, Cora and I had the chance to take part in a neat Japanese ritual yesterday as we waited for Greg to finish his workday.

The festival is called "Obon" and it is a Buddhist celebration that is very popular here in Japan. Once a year, families gather who have lost loved ones in the past year. They decorate lanterns and send them floating down the river in honor of the deceased, encouraging their loved ones' entry to heaven. During Obon, the Buddhists believe that the deceased spirits return to their home for 3 days of celebration before heading back to their "new world."

We decided to honor Grandma Syring, who died at 94 in November, 2008. We decorated a pink lantern (in honor of her breast cancer survival) with her name and a tribute to her husband, 3 children (and spouses), 12 grandchildren (and spouses) and 12 great-grandchildren. We even honored Gizmo her dog.

We also paid tribute to Jack and Lucy, 2 Syring family pets that passed away in this past year.

Families were dressed in traditional kimono and yukata and the whole ceremony was quite respectful.

We enjoyed watching Grandma's lantern (which had a candle burning inside) travel down the river as we shared memories of her life.