In short: Obon is a Japanese Buddhist festival, held around mid-July or mid-August, in which families remember and welcome ancestors. People visit graves, light lanterns, make offerings and dance bon odori. Temples hold memorial services, and Japanese-American Buddhist temples hold Obon dances in summer.
Customs
- Cleaning graves and welcoming spirits with lanterns.
- Offerings of food and flowers.
- Bon odori, folk dances in a circle.
- Sending spirits back with floating lanterns in some places.
Join one
Obon dances are held at Japanese-heritage temples across North America; see Hawaii and California. Related: Buddhist funeral etiquette · prayer for the dead.
More: Buddhist holidays 2027 · what is Vesak? · temple etiquette
Questions people ask
When is Obon?
Mid-July in parts of eastern Japan and mid-August in most other regions, usually around the 13th to the 15th.
What happens at Obon?
Families welcome the spirits of ancestors, visit graves, light lanterns and join bon odori folk dances, and temples hold memorial services.
What is the story behind Obon?
The disciple Mokuren (Maudgalyayana) helps his mother out of suffering through offerings to the monastic community, a story that became the basis of the festival.