Regular Annual Events in Japan
Tsukimi or The days for "moon gazing"
(nights of the full moon on August 15 and September 13 of the lunar
calendar)
Decoration of Japanese pampas grass are used, and moon-offering of
sake and dango (a kind of dumpling) are made as the people
gaze at the moon, enjoying the autumn evening..
Higan
(two periods of seven days with the middle day falling on the spring or
autumn equinox)
The word higan means "the other shore", or , in Buddhism,
nirvana. During higan the spirits of ancestors are recalled, Buddhist
rites carried out and family graves visited.
(From "Nippon-The Land and Its People-"written by Nippon Steel
Resources Development, published by Gakuseisha Publishing Co.,Ltd.)
