Obon....America

Recently, students have asked me if there is an obon holiday/festival in America.

No. There is nothing similar to obon that I can think of. Actually, we really don't have a custom to visit graves (at least at a specific time of the year). Some people visit the graves of friends/family at various times throughout the year. For example, on the dead persons birthday, or wedding anniversary if the deceased is a spouse. If a person is Christian, they will most likely pray at home or in church, to their dead loved ones rather than take a trip to the cemetery. The good thing is- they can do this anytime! In general, the grave itself is not so important.

Also, often a person is buried far away from home, or the relatives are all in different places. Some people have "famliy" graves, but some do not. Some people are cremated, others buried.

And...there are many different belief systems and religions in the US, so there are various ways to honor the dead. This is often a private matter to people.

We do have fireworks on the 4th of July (Independence Day). Some towns have summer events- things like strawberry festivals or jazz festivals.
And we have a lot of barbecues and family gatherings throughout the summer. Students have 2 or 3 months off from school, so they have a lot of time to see family, take a vacation, or a day trip to the beach or mountains. Adults will often take a week off of work sometime during the summer.