The Obon season, when Buddhists observe the tradition of honoring the dead, will begin next week with a public extravaganza at Ala Moana Park and continue through the summer with bon dances at island temples.

The annual Lantern Floating Hawaii program will begin at 6:30 p.m. Monday near Magic Island, with more than 2,000 lanterns to be set afloat inscribed with memorial prayers. The event draws thousands of islanders and visitors each year since the Shinnyo En Buddhist organization first combined the Buddhist ritual with the American Memorial Day tradition 12 years ago. A booth will be open at 1 p.m. for people to inscribe their prayer intentions.

Hawaii's Plantation Village, 94-695 Waipahu St., will be the setting of the first bon dance of the season, at 6 p.m. next Saturday. The public is welcome to join in the line dances, and a variety of food booths will be open.

In Japan the Obon season is a week or two long, but bon dances have become so popular in Hawaii that the season is stretched to last all summer long. Temples take turns on successive weekends, erecting fundraising food booths along with the “;yaguro”; tower, the stage for taiko drummers, singers and deejays spinning Japanese folk songs.

The experience has been embraced by island residents regardless of religion or ethnicity. The bon dance schedule will be listed in the HiLife section in the Friday Star-Bulletin.

Obon literally means “;lantern festival,”; and the mellow glow in the ritual is intended to illuminate the path of the spirits of ancestors who return in this season. The spirits are honored with offerings of flowers, food, prayers and incense in temple rituals and on family altars.

The concept of dancing for the dead is based on a story about Mokuren, a disciple of Shakyamuni Buddha, who founded the religion 2,500 years ago. The monk had a vision of his dead mother in the realm of hungry ghosts, starving there because of her greed while alive. Mokuren asked how he could relieve her suffering. The Buddha told him to offer food to monks returning from a retreat.

His mother's spirit was freed by his good deed, which led Mokuren to dance with joy.

Toro Nagashi, the lantern-floating ceremony, is the traditional finale of the Obon observance, said retired Honpa Hongwanji minister Alfred Bloom. In Japan the Toro Nagashi is often on a river, with lanterns set adrift to guide the ancestors back to the spirit world. “;There is the concept of carrying away impurities, so sending these ancestors back also has the aspect of a fresh start for the living,”; Bloom said.

The Haleiwa Jodo Mission has sponsored a Toro Nagashi for 40 years, setting lanterns adrift from its shore on Haleiwa Road beyond Alii Beach Park. The rural temple will hold its bon dance at 8 p.m. July 30 and 31. Lanterns will be launched at 9 p.m. July 31 with names of the dead inscribed on them.

“;The spirits come back and dance together with us,”; said the Rev. Koji Ezaki, of Haleiwa Jodo Mission. “;In the Toro Nagashi, the spirits of the deceased are going back to the land of Buddha, and we light their way.”;