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• Rusi Sorabji

  6 October, 2009 3:11 pm

  

  Readers would be pleased to learn that Japan also celebrates the Vernal Equinox as a National holiday since the 8th century Empror declared it as such. After WWII it is called “Shun bun no hi”, earlier it was called by a different name that eludes as i write. Some time ago when in Kyoto, my collegues from Hitachi informed me that it is a seven day ceremony/ celebration, when most Japanese return to their home towns to honour their dear departed, offering prayers, food and flowers which is believed to help nourish the souls, in their journey crossing over the wide and trubulent river that separates this life from the next.
  During the period graves are cleaned, decorated with flowers and the food & wine is left at the grave side in specially marked containers engraved with the family names.
  It reminded me of the similarities in belief, our “MUKTADS” and “Chinwad Pull”. Even the timing of the Muktads before the New Year.( FASLI NEW YEAR)
  Offcourse in Japan the food offered was sweet rice and Saki. I saw cases and cases of it lining the corridors of the temples in Kyoto, Nara and in Shimizu.
  In the olden days the Japnese society were mainly agriculturist the Spring Equinox for them was a time for joy & celebration as the end of the long harsh winter and an opportunity to a new beginning, and opportunity to celebrate, to pray for a good season, abundance of produce and prosperity.
  ( I say to my self, so was the case with our ancestors).

  Wonder what happened to the all the food and wine offered at the temples? The Priests , the Priestesses their families and others at the temple finished it off after the ceremonies were over.
  Rusi Sorabji.
  Campbell, Calif.

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