Bon Odori is a festival held every August. It celebrates the spirits of your ancestors returning from the spirit world to have a visit with the living world and relatives. This three day long celebration starts with O-bon, when the spirits return, and ends with Bon-Odori, when the spirits go back to the spirit world. Each day the living relatives visit a shrine and leave specific offerings: a straw horse, for fast travel from the spirit world, mochi balls, fresh vegetables. The horse is lit on fire and the smoke tells the ancestors where to visit.
My friend Kelly summarized the traditions on her blog post. She's better at explaining it than I am :)
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