Honouring souls of the ancestors

I want to write something about Reiki, but I am still going on about Halloween subject.  


Because it is so BIG in this country!


Maybe just because all those shriveled pumpkins are still sitting by the door and made me think of Halloween still.


But when I asked people,


" What is really Halloween means?"


I was surprised that many people don't really know.

I googled it.

I found out that Halloween is actually to honour the souls of the dead !!!

I love it !

It's just not about the candies and costumes !!!

I just love any custom that honour the ancestors. When I do Reiki, I always thank to my ancestors who brought me here.

Over 2000 years ago, the Celts celebrated a holiday they called Samhain (pronounced "Sa-wan"). 
Samhain was the name of the God of Death. 


On the last day of October, (when the harvest season had ended) the God Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to visit the homes they once lived in.


On that night Celts would leave their homes and gather together in a field. 


Once at the field they would build a huge bonfire, 
this fire was as big as a tool shed, to scare away 
all the evil spirits and any ghost, goblins, or any other demons 
that may be roaming around in the night.




The holiday of Samhian was 
an ancestor of the Halloween of today. 




Although it was not called Halloween at first. 


Somewhere around 800 A.D. the Christian church declared 
November 1^st as All Saints' Day to honour all the Saints who 
did not have a special day of their own. 


On this occasion people made their old customs from 
Samhian and the Roman festivals part of the All Saints' Day rituals. 


The Catholic church also made November 2^nd All Souls' Day to honour the dead.


The mass said on All Saints' Day was known as All Hallow mas. 


The evening before, October 31^st became known as All Hallow Eve. 


Over time the name has been shortened to Halloween.

Did you know???

I found it is very fascinating and reminds me the ritual of my hometown, Nagasaki.

In my hometown, Nagasaki, there is a ritual called
"Shoro Nagashi" on August 15th, during Obon holidays.


Obon is the Japanese custom to honor the souls of family's ancestors. 


Every year from August 13 ~ 15, this custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit clean their ancestors's graves, and when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars.


"Shoro Nagashi" is part of this ritual that is in Nagasaki. 
It is mainly for the person who passed away within a past year to send the soul to the spirit world.


It sounds beautiful.  You might imagine that the ceremony is heart warming and touching, maybe bring tears in your eyes.


But the day of the Shoro Nagashi is actually VERY EXCITING for people who did not lose loved ones.

My blood bubbles when I hear fire crackers, because 

it reminds me the day of Shoro Nagashi.

The family build a ship looking float. Usually it is decorated with many lantans. 

This float carries a soul of a person who passed away in a past year, and brings it to the ocean to send off to the spirit world.




The family push this float through the town to the ocean.


While they are moving towards the ocean, they use 
significant amount of fire crackers.

video: Fire crackers go crazy

Because of the fire crackers, people tend to think this is a festival, but it is actually a 
Buddhist ceremony.


If you ever travel to Japan in August, please travel down to Nagasaki and have a look at Shoro Nagashi.


Don't forget the ear plugs !!!

Video : Nagasaki Shoro Nagashi

Shoro Nagashi is actually a great dating spot
for high schoolers.
Boy proud of the girl who is in 
a summer kimono.
Hold hands together but no one could see in the crowd.
It is too noisy to make any conversation,
but sharing the same time together.


Ahhhhh, heart warming moments, 
but never happened for me!

Our Halloween tradition

Ever since we moved to this house 2002,

we have a halloween tradition.

Yes, carving pumpkins!

But not in a ordinary way.

We carve our own faces!

We take a photo of our each face and make templates.

Trace the outline face shape, cut out some parts of the face

 to be able to make certain shadows.

Wrinkles are important part of the shadow!

Transfer onto the pumpkin, and start carving.

Gut out the pumpkin as thin as possible.

So then easier to make details.

Use a tiny spiral saw blades.

Tada~~~!  

Let's see how it looks like when we lit a candle inside.

Family!

From the left, Keith, Mayu, Geoff and Mari.

One pumkin was rotten inside, so Brian did not get one this year.

This is Keith.

Keith's pumpkin.

2002, start with family of three.

Keith is only 9month old.

Brian           Mari
Keith

Then, Mayu joined.

Mari     Brian
Mayu         Keith

Then Geoff joined !

Geoff
Mari    Brian
          Mayu Keith

Now we carve 5 pumpkins!

Keith            Mayu          Geoff           Mari

By the way, Brian also made this awsome costume

for Geoff.

Let's see how it turns out.

He is already pretty happy!

Shark, Bunny, Dementor and Harry Potter!

It was such a fun Halloween!  

Cultural shock

I went to my daughter's grade 1 class to help out the craft time.

Subject of the craft at this season is, of course,

Halloween.

I grow up in small town called Nagasaki, Japan, from kindergarten to high school.

After graduated High school, I went to Tokyo to learn Health and PE at Tokyo Women's College of Physical Education. Spent 4 years in Tokyo, and came back to this small town, Nagasaki. I love this town.

Back then, a small town like Nagasaki, did not have too much influence from Western culture. So I did not grow up with Halloween.

Anyways,

When I started a family, I tried every thing to avoid Halloween for my kids, because of the amount of candies !!! One time, I even planned a trip to Japan with my children around the Halloween, so then they did not have to receive so much candies.

Oh boy, when they realized that they would miss the Halloween, they did not like the idea at all !!!

OK, I realized that this is parental ego.

I am in a country where children look forward to going trick or treating as much as they look forward for the Christmas! I should let them have fun !

Back to today's story.

Cultural Shock !

Kids are all in some sort of costumes, make ups, in a school, in a class, while teacher is teaching.

Well this would not happen in Japan !!!

It was so much FUN to see all those little children are in a costume and trying to study at the same time !!!

There was a little witch trying to teach Harry Potter to design a pumpkin.

Woody and another witch are being creative.

A bunny's smile.

This is my daughter.

Even a teacher is dressed as a Witch !!!

Well, let me show you the Japanese Grade 1.

They go to school together, line up nice and neat.

They all have a same school bag called, lando-sel.

You get to choose black or red.

Swimming class in a summer time. They have to

take a dreadfully cold shower before get in a pool.

Kids call this shower, "Shower of the hell."

Their lips turns blue...

At the end of the school time, in a class room.

Now I know both school system, Japanese and Canadian.

They are both wonderful in their way.

I like the Canadian ways to let the kids be kids.

I like the certain discipline of Japanese way.