Lesson 96 The dead return

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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 to 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 the 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 the 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.

Words & Expressions 

*lantern  n. 灯笼/ˈlæntərn/--a lamp that you can carry, consisting of a metal container with glass sides that surrounds a flame or light.

lantern festival 元宵节，灯节

palace lantern 宫灯

lantern show灯展

*spectacle  n. 景象，壮观，场面, a very impressive show or scene, 

eg. a multimedia dance and opera spectacle

From our tent, we could see the grand spectacle of Mount Blue.

make a spectacle of yourself出丑 

eg. Judy made a complete spectacle of herself by getting drunk at the wedding. 

*drift away 渐渐飘远，散去

eg. The wreckage slowly drifted away.残骸慢慢漂走了。

eg. People drifted away after the concert.音乐会后人们渐渐离去了。

开始产生不同的想法和感觉，开始发生分歧；渐渐疏远：

eg. After ten years of marriage,the husband drifted away from his wife's views.

drift apart--if people drift apart, their relationship gradually ends.

eg. Over the years, my college friends and I have drifted apart.

eg. We grew up, went off to different places, drifted apart.

let something drift, to allow something, especially something bad, to continue in the same way.

eg. He couldn't let the matter drift for much longer.

drift off, to gradually fall asleep

eg. I was just drifting off when the phone rang.

eg. He felt himself drifting off to sleep.

drift from something to something

eg. The conversation drifted from one topic to another.

let your gaze/eyes/thoughts/mind etc drift 

eg. Idly she let her eyes drift over his desk.

drift into, to gradually change from being in one condition, situation etc. to another without realizing it 

eg. She was just drifting into sleep when the alarm went off.

eg. He drifted in and out of consciousness.

drift out/towards, to move slowly on water or in the air 

eg. The rubber raft drifted out to sea.

eg. Smoke drifted up from the jungle ahead of us.

drift around/along, to move, change, or do something without any plan or purpose

eg. Jenni spent the year drifting around Europe.

*lay out 摆放/表达陈述

eg. She laid out the knives and forks on the table.

eg. The president would presumably be prepared to lay out his own peace plan if necessary.

Sentence

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