{"id":719,"date":"2022-03-28T13:57:42","date_gmt":"2022-03-28T13:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theview.boltonschool.info\/?p=719"},"modified":"2022-07-07T12:39:56","modified_gmt":"2022-07-07T12:39:56","slug":"seasonal-wars-japanese-vs-british-festivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theview.boltonschool.info\/?p=719","title":{"rendered":"Seasonal Wars: Japanese vs. British Festivals"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As Easter approaches, many of us look forward to celebrating the arrival of the Easter Bunny and the promise of chocolate delights, which can now come in all shapes and sizes. Chocolate Llama, anyone? Festivals are enjoyed in cultures all over the world. It’s something we humans seem to share a passion for, with or without the wildlife confectionery.<\/p>\n

What kind of festivals do they celebrate in very different cultures, such as the Far East? As in Britain, many of Japan\u2019s celebrations stem from their religious and cultural heritage.\u00a0 Since ancient times traditional Shinto religious festivals have commemorated the various deities, harvests and even self \u2013 fulfilment and joy. On the other hand, Britain can have some \u2018unusual\u2019 festivals to the naked eye of a foreigner.<\/p>\n

As Easter approaches, may of us look forward to celebrating the arrival of the Easter Bunny and the promise of chocolate delights, which can now come in all shapes and sizes. Chocolate Llama, anyone? Festivals are enjoyed in cultures all over the world. It’s something we humans seem to share a passion for, with or without the wildlife confectionery.<\/p>\n

What kind of festivals do they celebrate in very different cultures, such as the Far East? As in Britain, many of Japan\u2019s celebrations stem from their religious and cultural heritage.\u00a0 Since ancient times traditional Shinto religious festivals have commemorated the various deities, harvests and even self \u2013 fulfilment and joy. On the other hand, Britain can have some \u2018unusual\u2019 festivals to the naked eye of a foreigner.<\/p>\n

\"Parade Parade of vikings holding torches during the Up Helly Aa festival<\/p>\n

If you find yourself up in Shetland on the last Tuesday of January, you might be surprised to see all the men put on horned helmets and light up the sky with flaming torches. They will be parading through the town, celebrating one of Europe\u2019s biggest fire festivals! Up Helly Aa looks extremely Vikingesque,\u00a0 despite the town having no specific Viking roots. A Viking ship is set off and blown up in golden flames for all tourists to see and all the men dress up in Viking gear to celebrate the festive spirit. So our festivals can be pretty spectacular. What about in Japan?<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s Matsuri festivals occur across the country, mainly revering the Gods and deities. It is said that there could be around 300,000 Matsuri happening across Japan per year! During a Matsuri there will always be a portable shrine that is said to hold a deity, which would be carried around the neighbourhood. It is an extremely important part of these celebrations. The processions would be the only time the shrine\u2019s \u201cKami\u201d (Shinto deity) would leave the shrine to be carried around town.<\/p>\n

In Kyoto, Gion Matsuri takes place throughout most of July, however on July 17th a grand procession of floats flood the streets. Some roll with massive black wheels, some resting on the shoulders of anywhere between 4 to 50 people and are adorned with lanterns, red and gold flags and even tapestry depicting events relating to the Matsuri.<\/p>\n

\"Example Example of a float with contemporary art decorating the sides during Gion matsuri<\/p>\n

In a smaller corner of Japan, deep in the south, thousands of nearly naked men bare their bodies to the cold and fight for sacred sticks thrown to the crowd. Holding onto one of these sticks is said to bring prosperity and fortune. Another traditional Matsuri, the men who join lock arms and take the width of the entire street and once it begins utter chaos unfolds as everyone locks in on the sticks.<\/p>\n

Like Mexico\u2019s D\u00eda de Muertos or China\u2019s Hungry Ghost festival, Japan holds its own tradition of welcoming the dead home. Obon, unlike the majority of Matsuri festivals, is a Buddhist tradition, originating from the Buddhist story of a disciple of the Buddha.<\/p>\n

Lanterns are put up to lead family’s ancestors home. People also clean and touch up the graves. Lanterns might also be floated down the river for their ancestors. Flowers and fruit are given as sacrifices, the most common being cucumbers and eggplants which represent the spirit mounts for the ancestors.<\/p>\n

The horse is fast and ox slow, so the first day of calling the spirits home the cucumber horses are presented, and when leaving the eggplant ox is offered. It expresses the hope that their ancestors will come home quickly and leave slowly<\/p>\n

\"Lanterns\" Lanterns
\n\"Cucumber Cucumber and eggplant<\/p>\n

Obon could seem a bit Macabre to western cultures, because there aren\u2019t many mass celebrated festivals for ancestors, bar the anniversary when they passed away. The Japanese like to celebrate their respect for the dead and rather than having sombre services, streets are filled with dancing, food, and games.<\/p>\n

However, during the festival people eat vegetarian foods for three days and their are special requirements for Obon altar offerings \u2013 no fish or meat, and the food given needs to be directly edible (no cooking or preparation required)<\/p>\n

In terms of food, popular street food is always available such as Yakisoba, Okonomiyaki and Takoyaki \u2013 fried octopus balls!<\/p>\n

But energetic displays of culture aren’t just the preserve of the Japanese. Some British festivals include the idea of races and celebrate the discord that follows! For example, pancake races on Shrove Tuesday and Cheese-rolling traditions.\u00a0 Cheese-Rolling can be so risky that the authorities have suggested a ban on the event dating back from the 15th<\/sup> century!<\/p>\n

The cheese has a one second head start before the chasers come tumbling afterwards, most coming away with fractures rather than the cheese wheel. And its not just the runners who suffer, onlookers may get attacked by cheese that roll off course, but despite the injuries the festival hasn\u2019t been banned just yet.<\/p>\n

\"octupus\"<\/p>\n

It may be more feasible for us to celebrate one of our British festivals rather than travelling\u00a0 oversees to Japan. However, if you want something more organised and perhaps less likely to hurt, Japan could be a better option.<\/p>\n

From their incredible food to their epic Bon Odori drum beating, it is such a different experience from our own festivals and you could enjoy something you haven’t seen before. Then again, I doubt you\u2019ve ever been pinned down by flying cheese before.<\/p>\n

But nevertheless, both Japan and England have their own traditions that they are proud to celebrate and that reflect the identity of these very different cultures. Both of which can delight and leave you in awe. Perhaps this is why festivals are a beloved feature in calendars all over the world.<\/p>\n

So, if you want more a traditional and homely feel to your festivals, Japan might be the best place to go, however nothing can beat the adrenaline and utter bizarre nature of the British. Who comes up with these ideas anyway?!<\/p>\n

By Blake Owens<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Easter approaches, many of us look forward to celebrating the arrival of the Easter Bunny and the promise of chocolate delights, which can now come in all shapes and sizes. Chocolate Llama, anyone? Festivals are enjoyed in cultures all over the world. It’s something we humans seem to share a passion for, with or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-issue-2","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theview.boltonschool.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theview.boltonschool.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theview.boltonschool.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theview.boltonschool.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theview.boltonschool.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=719"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/theview.boltonschool.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1153,"href":"https:\/\/theview.boltonschool.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719\/revisions\/1153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theview.boltonschool.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theview.boltonschool.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theview.boltonschool.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theview.boltonschool.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}