[She snickers and holds her hands up as if in surrender] Look, if they mess with the candy I'll take some untainted ones from my friend's stash to give to you.
[She's actually kind of surprise no one's asked her that yet, but she leans in and considers it]
Mm, not at the end of October like you guys. A lot of Western customs float over, so it's sort of celebrated? People do parties and dress up all spooky, but it's not really the same.
We have obon though. People go back home and clean off the Ancestral shrines, give offerings. Our ancestors are supposed to return to the world of the living for a few days, so it's a time to honor them. There's all sorts of huge dances and bonfires.
[She thinks about it a little more and then offers:] But, October in Japan is also traditionally called Kaminazuki, or 'The Month Without Gods' because supposedly all the gods meet at the Izumo shrine so the rest of the country is empty of them.
no subject
[She's actually kind of surprise no one's asked her that yet, but she leans in and considers it]
Mm, not at the end of October like you guys. A lot of Western customs float over, so it's sort of celebrated? People do parties and dress up all spooky, but it's not really the same.
We have obon though. People go back home and clean off the Ancestral shrines, give offerings. Our ancestors are supposed to return to the world of the living for a few days, so it's a time to honor them. There's all sorts of huge dances and bonfires.
[She thinks about it a little more and then offers:] But, October in Japan is also traditionally called Kaminazuki, or 'The Month Without Gods' because supposedly all the gods meet at the Izumo shrine so the rest of the country is empty of them.