Gardena Obon Festival

Earlier in the month we went to the Gardena Obon Festival. I never posted the pictures because I thought that I might edit them in Picnik. But I have no idea what I'm doing and I'm lazy. :)

My plan is to distract you with cute children. How adorable are those little girls?!

The Obon Festival is the Buddhist "Festival of the Dead" or "Feast of Lanterns".

I will now hang my head in shame as I did not get a single picture of the lanterns.



This was actually the before picture. Then mom came over and gave a quick lesson on sitting like a lady.

I have a soft spot for kids in kimonos.

The Obon Festival may sound like a sad or somber festival but its not at all! It is thought that during this time each year the spirits of ancestors that have passed will come back to join their families again. Obon is a festival of welcoming and honoring the dead. Its a time to celebrate the homecoming of our families!



This Obon Festival is at the Gardena Buddhist Church. It is the largest in Southern California and happens to be my grandma's church. You know what all churches have in common?

Fantastic church lady food! And church man food, of course.



This is called Dango. Its basically fried-goodness. A batter of sorts. Its not sweet like a donut, more like a dense hushpuppy or fritter. I'd like to sound more knowledgeable but that's all I've got for you. You should have seen the line for this stuff!



The highlight of the Obon Festival is the Bon Odori. Hee, that sentence makes very little sense without explanation.

The Bon Odori is the cultural dance you can see in these pictures.



Each area of Japan has a different dance. This year there were over 1,000 dancers in Gardena!



I see a future Taiko drummer in the making. Unfortunately, we missed the Taiko performance. We could hear it in the distance but never made it over. Next year, we'll get there earlier. I was able to look up some of the performances here.



The members of the church and members of the community learn the dances in the few months before the celebration.

You don't have to be Buddhist or Japanese to be a part of the Obon Festival. Its is quite a community building event.

In the dances each of the movements have a meaning that are meant to soothe the spirits of those who have died as they travel back to their original homes.



Isn't she a doll?!

Various groups travel to each other's churches to participate in different Obons. Gardena had dancers from as far as Kona, Hawaii.



Some dress in the Yukata (light cotton kimono- please someone correct me if my informations is wrong), some in a t-shirt and shorts. This isn't a formal affair. You can just jump right in and mimic the repetitive movements.



This cutie is my niece Kate. She wouldn't let me take a picture but I caught her looking at her mom. Her younger sister is chubs.



See this gentleman. He had no idea what he was doing. You see, the lines of dancers go around in a big oval. Suddenly he just popped up and jumped in. He grabbed random people as he walked by and encouraged them to dance.



This flasher is my nephew Josh. B took this and I'm not sure what was going on here. Its a common kid thing, isn't it? He seems to be very serious. I wonder what kind of negotiations were being achieved.



Oh and this little one was so adorable I almost stole her. People frown on kidnapping, so i took pictures instead.

She is high-fiving my brother as she tells him quite a story. I couldn't say for sure what she was talking about as she was speaking Japanese. I don't speak Japanese.



I'm almost positive she is schooling him on the significane of lanterns to the Obon Festival. Lanterns are traditionally hung to help guide your ancestors home. White lanterns more specifically for those who have recently passed as it is thought they will need more help finding their way.

At the end of the festival the ancestor spirits must return to the world from which they came. In many areas a family member will light a lantern and float it down the river to help guide their loved ones home.

Or maybe she just liked the pretty lantern.