Book Two Unit Ninety-six

A Festival for the Dead is held once a year in Japan. On this festival, people prepare
for food for the dead who are supposed to be hungry when they return home. On this
day, the dead are welcomed by the living and instructed to come back by specially-
-made lanterns that have been hung outside each house. The whole night is spent on
dancing and singing. When the festival is over, not only the food that had been laid out
for the dead is thrown into a river or into the sea as it is considered unluck for anyone
living to eat it, but also the tiny lanterns which had been hung in the street are placed
into the water. Thousands of lanterns slowly drift out to sea, helping the dead to return
to the other world. Such lanterns present a majestic spectacle for crowds of peoeple
stand on the shore watching the lanterns drifting away until they can not been seen no
more.