My name is Makiko Asai. I'm a freshman at Tokoha University. My department is foreign languages, and I major in English. I'd like to study not only English but also other languages. My hobby is listening to music, watching movies, etc.
I'd like to introduce "OBON". It's a Japanese traditional festival for welcoming dead ancestors' spirits.
The date is different in each area, but during July and August. My area has OBON on August 13th. Each home who has dead ancestors makes a fire which is called "TAIMATSU". We burn pine firewood. And also we offer a horse which is made from a cucumber, and a cow which is made from an eggplant. That means when their spirits come back to their home, they ride on a horse and a cow, with the help of the light of the TAIMATSU. Dead ancestors who have OBON for the first time, ride on a horse to come to their home faster. The other ancestors ride on a cow leisurely. We also offer some foods to them. We mix washed rice, minced cucumber and eggplant, and put it on the leaf of a sweet potato. It's for them who reach their house, riding cow and horse. We offer some foods every meal.
On 16th August, we float cow, horse and some foods to the ocean on the river. If there is no the ocean or the river, bury it at the corner of the garden We often say that "Don't go to the ocean and the river" in the OBON time. Because we believe that dead ancestors take living people to the after life.
I think it's original, Japanese thoughtss about OBON.
I will talk about ALGERIA. It is located the northwest of the African continent, and extends from the Sahara Desert to the Mediterranean Sea. Algeria is the second biggest country in Africa, and six times bigger than Japan. But now, the Sahara occupies about 80% of the country. The population of the Algeria is about 27 million, and they are blessed with natural resources.
First of all, I will tell you about the flag. It us two colors, which are green and white. Green means abundance, and white means purity. There is a star and crescent at the center of the frog. That is traditional symbol of Ottoman Empire.
Next, the main religion is Islam. So, woman wears the big cloth veil. In the west, they wear white one, and in the east, black one. Married woman can only show their eyes, and unmarried woman show their faces. And, people usually wear a type of jacket. In winter, it's for warmth and in summer for avoiding the direct sunlight.
The country faces the ocean, so they can make a good catch of many fresh fish. Kinds of fish are similar to Japan. For example, sardines, tuna, shrimp, squid, and so on.
Lastly, I'll tell you about the ruins of Djemilla. It's city ruins of ancient Rome and also world heritage site. This is a triumphal arch. Its area is about 75 hectares, and we can see buildings that are separated according to epoch 2nd century to 5th century. Romans built the city in Djemilla for suppressing local peoples after making a conquest of the north Africa. Djemilla was built in the mountain, so people tended to forget in the early times. So, it's good preservation and we can get an idea about life of ancient Romans.
At first, I only had heard the name of Algeria, but through studying about Algeria, I became to feel like visiting there someday.