[00:11.01]What happens to the lanterns at the end of the festival? [00:17.38]A Festival for the Dead is held once a year in Japan. [00:22.72]This festival is a cheerful occasion, [00:26.05]for on this day, the dead are said to return to their homes and they are welcomed by the living. [00:34.36]As they are expected to be hungry after their long journey, food is laid out for them. [00:41.81]Specially-made lanterns are hung outside each house to help the dead to find their way. [00:49.85]All night long, people dance and sing. [00:54.07]In the early morning the food that had been laid out for the dead [00:59.49]is thrown into a river or into the sea as it is considered unlucky for anyone living to eat it. [01:09.25]In towns that are near the sea, the tiny lanterns which had been hung in the streets the night before, [01:17.84]are placed into the water when the festival is over. [01:22.15]Thousands of lanterns slowly drift out to sea guiding the dead on their return journey to the other world. [01:31.58]This is a moving spectacle, for crowds of people [01:36.07]stand on the shore watching the lanterns drifting away until they can be seen no more. 日本每年过一次“亡灵节”。这个节日是个欢乐的日子，因为在这一天，据说死去的人要回到他们的家里来，活着的人则对他们表示欢迎。因为预料到他们在经过长途旅行之后会感到饥饿，所以为他们摆放好了食品。特制的灯笼挂在各家的门外，为的是帮助亡灵看清道路。整个夜晚人们载歌载舞。一大早，人们便把为死者摆放的食品扔进河中或海里，因为人们认为活着的人吃了这些东西是不吉利的。在靠海的城镇中，头天夜里挂在大街小巷的小灯笼在节后就放在了水里。成千上万只灯笼慢慢漂向大海，指引着亡灵返回另一个世界。这是一个感人的场面，人们成群地伫立在海岸上，注视着灯笼远去，直到再也看不见为止。