🥯Haru Bagels Newsletter, July 2026🥯
Introducing Japanese Summer Festivals!🍉
Summer in Japan is all about Matsuri (festivals)! They started long ago to pray for good harvests and honor ancestors. Today, they are high-energy parties filled with music, lights, and color!
❇️ Popular Summer Festivals 🌟
Among the many celebrations, Tanabata (the Star Festival) is a beautiful event held on July 7th. People celebrate this romantic night by writing their special wishes on colorful paper strips called Tanzaku, which they then hang on bamboo branches to make them come true.
Another major highlight of the season is the Fireworks Festivals (Hanabi Taikai), held near rivers and beaches all over Japan. These massive, artistic fireworks completely light up the night sky, and their grand scale is absolutely breathtaking.
For those who love music and movement, the Yosakoi Festival offers a super high-energy dance experience. Dancers wear bright, colorful costumes and clap wooden instruments called Naruko, creating a powerful and dynamic energy that you can feel just by watching.
👘 Fun Parts of Matsuri 🍧
One of the best ways to experience a festival is through the Yatai (food stalls), which offer the ultimate Japanese street food experience. You can try delicious festival favorites like Yakisoba (fried noodles), Takoyaki (octopus balls), and refreshing Kakigori (shaved ice).
To fully immerse yourself in the festival spirit, wearing a Yukata is a timeless summer tradition. This casual, lightweight cotton kimono is the perfect, stylish outfit for a hot summer night.
🥁 Deep Dive: Bon Odori & Obon ✨
To truly understand Japanese summer, you need to know about Obon, a special Buddhist holiday period held in mid-August.
During this time, Japanese people believe that their ancestors' spirits return home for a short visit. Families gather to clean family graves and welcome these spirits back.
Bon Odori is the traditional dance performed during this period. While it originally started as a way to welcome and comfort the spirits, today it is also a giant, fun block party for the whole neighborhood.
During a Bon Odori event, everyone gathers at local parks or community grounds to dance in a big circle around a high wooden tower called a Yagura.
On top of the tower, musicians perform live music. Taiko drums make powerful, booming beats that you can feel in your chest, and they play a huge variety of music, ranging from traditional folk songs to modern anime tracks and pop music.
The best part is that the dance moves are quite simple and repeat over and over. Anyone can join, so you can just jump into the circle and follow the steps of the person in front of you!
📢 See You at the Bon Odori Festival! 🏮
Lastly, we are very excited to announce that we will be participating as a vendor at the Bon Odori Japanese Dance Festival!
Date: Saturday, July 18th
Location: Excite Lethbridge
Time: Doors open at 4:30 PM
We will be doing things a little differently there, focusing on ready-to-eat bagels that you can enjoy right at the festival. It is going to be a wonderful celebration, so please come by, say hello, and enjoy some delicious bagels with us. We can't wait to see you there!