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The dead return

A festival for the Dead is held once a year in Japan.

This festival is a cheerful occasion, for on this day, the dead are said to return their homes and they are welcomed by the living.

As they are expected to be hungry after their long journey, food is laid out for them.

Specially-made lanterns are hung outside each house to help the dead to find their way.

All night long, people dance and sing.

In the early morning, the food that had been laid out for tje dead is thrown into a river or into the sea as it is considered unlucky for anyone living to eat it.

In towns that are near the sea, the tiny lanterns which had been hung in tje streets the night before, are placed into the water when the festival is over.

Thousands of lanterns slowly drift out to sea guiding the dead on their return journey to the other world.

This is a moving spectacle, for crowds of people stand on the shore watching the lanterns drifting away until they can be seen no more.