Obon Week is on the way!

ENTRY

2026.08.06

カテゴリー：ブログ

Hello everyone,

Here at Hario, our students are busy working away at our summer grammar classes. The summer vacation is the perfect time to brush up on your English skills to get the edge, before returning to school and dazzling everyone with your improved English.

Next week is obon week here in Japan. This is the time of the year when the spirits of our ancestors come back to visit us. In some ways it is a similar idea to Halloween in Ireland, which began because of a similar idea. That’s why people dressed up as ghosts for the day, which later became costumes of anything. There are a few obon customs that people will take part in next week. A few years ago, my wife’s grandmother showed me how to make horses out of eggplant and cucumbers, using chopsticks for legs. These are horses for our ancestors to travel around on. My wife’s parents make a little fire in the garden every year. These fires are lit to guide the spirits home. Household alters are usually stocked with fruit or food to welcome the spirits. We usually visit the family grave and clean it up at some point in the week when our relatives visit. However you celebrate the holiday, enjoy the break!

After Obon week, Hario’s Autumn Capaign 2026 is kicking off! Come on over and see what Hario is all about with free trial lessons at our wonderful English school. I’m looking forward to starting new journeys in English with our newest students!

-Alan P

みなさん、こんにちは。

アラン・フィリップスです

HARIOでは、ただいま生徒たちが夏の文法クラスに一生懸命取り組んでいます

夏休みは英語力を磨く絶好の機会です。学校に戻ったとき、より上達した英語で周りを驚かせる準備ができますよ。

来週は日本ではお盆の週です。この時期は、ご先祖さまの霊が帰ってくるとされる期間です。

アイルランドのハロウィンも、もともとは似たような考えから始まったと言われています。

そのため、人々は霊に扮して仮装をするようになり、それが次第にいろいろな衣装へと広がっていきました。

お盆にはいくつかの風習があります。数年前、妻のおばあさんが、ナスやキュウリに箸で脚をつけて馬を作る方法を教えてくれました。これはご先祖さまが移動するための馬だそうです。妻の両親は毎年、庭で小さな火を焚きます。その火は霊が家に戻るための道しるべになります。家の仏壇には果物や食べ物を供えて霊を迎えます。また、親戚が集まるタイミングでお墓参りをして掃除をすることもあります。