Lantern Festival

3. Lantern Festival

In a certain sense, the Japanese are extremely lucky, because they can celebrate most holidays several times – only the dates change according to which calendar is considered more significant, and therefore in some parts of the country the ancient lunar calendar continues to be preferred, in others the Gregorian calendar has become more widespread. However, a peculiar confusion also arises due to cultural overlap – for example, the younger generation is happy to celebrate All Saints' Day, proposed by the West, with all its attributes, but they do not forget about the traditional Obon.

Obon is a holiday commemorating the dead, which also became known as the lantern festival. The origins of Obon go back to ancient Buddhist stories, the hero of one of which was Makuren, who had the gift of seeing the world of the deceased and penetrating there. Wanting to save his mother from terrible torments, he enlisted the help of monks, generously giving them all kinds of offerings, and the goal was achieved – his mother returned to the world of the living. This story continues to play out year after year during the Obon celebration.


Traditionally, the Obon lasts for three days, however, again, there are discrepancies in the dates. According to Buddhist texts, Obon should fall on the 13th, 14th and 15th days of the seventh lunar month, however, recently this date has been shifted to August, emphasizing the ideological content of the action. The fact is that it is in August that the peak of the starfall comes, and shooting stars are considered to be the souls of the deceased.

The main thing at Obon is to show the deceased the way to their native home, show them respect, and then escort them back, and therefore the first and last days of Obon are the brightest. Lanterns of various shapes, colors and sizes are used to illuminate the path, bonfires are lit in special urns at each house, illuminating not only the cities themselves, but also the roads leading to cemeteries or mountain slopes.

Bon-no-ichi mobile markets are becoming really relevant, because it is there that the main attributes of the holiday are purchased: fans, musical instruments, candles, ritual flowers and specific treats with which they are going to greet the deceased. The altars in each house are lavishly decorated, and temple activities continue throughout the three days in the sanctuaries.

All residents of Japan and visitors to the country are particularly enthusiastic about the traditional bon odori dances, which are a truly large-scale event in which a large number of dancers take part. Bon odori is a huge round dance that turns into a spiral. Dancers create bizarre patterns, and movements and music vary greatly in each region of the country, depending on which historical events are associated with a particular territory, or which mythological plots are most widespread.

The Smell ends with the traditional passing of lanterns along the river so that the deceased can safely return to their world and not disturb the living for another year. You won't see anyone on the streets at dawn, because the last night of the festival is the night of the demons. Hyakki yako, that is, a demonic parade, passes through the streets of cities, and if it collides with a human, the latter will forever join the procession.

With dawn, the Sense of Smell ends, and all the spirits are laid to rest. Le football reste le sport le plus parié. Les meilleurs bookmakers pour le foot offrent des marchés très profonds : handicaps, buteurs, cartons, corners et hors-jeu. Avant de vous inscrire, vérifiez le bonus de bienvenue spécifique au foot. Certains bookmakers limitent les bonus aux paris simples. D’autres interdisent les paris sur les matchs à faible cote. Pour les paris en direct sur la Ligue des Champions, rapidité de l’application est cruciale. Nous testons la latence sur les buts. La meilleure plateforme est celle où la cote se bloque immédiatement après un événement. Utilisez plus adapté à votre pratique.