I got this explanation of Obon from Wikipedia:
"Obon or just Bon (盆) is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the departed (deceased) spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves, and when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars. It has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon-Odori."
Odori means dance. I've always loved the excitement and happiness of the Obon season. As a child I used to go to the Buddhist temple with friends several weeks before the Bon Dance was scheduled to take lessons. I haven't danced in over 40 years and I'm afraid to try it again. However, I remember the fun and joy of it.
Obon was important to my mother for the religious part of honoring our ancestors. Obon for me was .... forgive me... teriyaki sticks, shave ice, rice balls, craft stalls, sushi, dressing up in pretty kimonos and dancing.
Seeing the lights tonight and all the people gathered around the tower (where the musicians and singers performed) made me remember the joy of it all. Disappointingly, we didn't find a happi coat for KC. However, every week in Hawaii there's another Obon Dance somewhere on the island. We'll try to attend another one to see if anybody is selling happi coats. Maybe they'll have teriyaki sticks and shave ice too?
UPDATE on Amazon: Remember that problem we had with Amazon? I couldn't believe how quickly we got the replacement mug. We received the mug just a day after I wrote to them! It still wasn't packed well, but it was in good shape this time.
I did get a message again saying that because I chose the replacement mug, there will be no refund. Oh well... at least the mug is replaced although the three metal cans of chocolate he sent were also horribly dented. It's a shame because they could have been decorative and reused. So the final on this is that it was great they replaced the mug, but the customer service is OK... not great.... just OK.
UPDATE 2 on Amazon: Would you believe I got another message from Amazon saying they would give a refund on the dented chocolate set after all?
OK... the final review of their Customer Service is GREAT! Although... I'll wait to see if my son's account really is credited as they say it will be.
