[00:01.080]--- Lesson 96 The dead return
[00:06.600]--- First listen and then answer the question.
[00:12.600]--- What happens to the lanterns at the end of the festival?
[00:19.280]A Festival for the Dead is held once a year in Japan.
[00:24.680]This festival is a cheerful occasion,
[00:27.760]for on this day, the dead are said to return to their homes and they are welcomed by the living.
[00:35.600]As they are expected to be hungry after their long journey, food is laid out for them.
[00:42.840]Specially-made lanterns are hung outside each house to help the dead to find their way.
[00:50.160]All night long, people dance and sing.
[00:54.680]In the early morning, the food that had been laid out for the dead is thrown into a river or into the sea
[01:02.680]as it is considered unlucky for anyone living to eat it.
[01:07.840]In towns that are near the sea,
[01:10.640]the tiny lanterns which had been hung in the streets the night before,are placed into the water when the festival is over.
[01:20.400]Thousands of lanterns slowly drift out to sea guiding the dead on their return journey to the other world.
[01:30.040]This is a moving spectacle,
[01:32.360]for crowds of people stand on the shore watching the lanterns drifting away until they can be seen no more.
[01:42.560]--- end