The Japanese Lantern Festival, Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain

My father passed away last July, and it forever changed my perception of my

place in the universe. I suddenly felt very small and vulnerable. One evening a few weeks ago, almost a year from the date of his passing, a friend of mine invited me to go to the Japanese Lantern Festival in the Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain. I had never heard of this event before, but the idea intrigued me, since I still felt the pain of my father's passing profoundly. I loved the idea of an Asian cultural tradition to honor loved ones who have passed away performed in a beautifully landscaped European style garden cemetery. I ended up going alone that evening, but I felt that I was participating in something very special.

It was a warm, balmy summer evening as volunteers guided young people, elders, and children of every race and nationality along the winding, hilly, beautifully maintained paths. The festive atmosphere made the cemetery seem more like a place of joyous communion than of solemn contemplation. There were dancers performing along the path among the tombstones, and at the shores of the beautiful lake the crowd settled on blankets and watched performances by Japanese lion dancers, taiko drummers, and a country music band.

Japanese lanterns were available for $10 apiece, and calligraphers costumed in traditional Japanese kimonos to write

messages in kanji on the lantern shades. There were also crayons and markers to write more personal messages. I selected the kanji symbols of love and peace for two sides of my lantern shade, then wrote a dedication to my father, mother, mothers of my siblings, and grandparents on the third side, and a dedication to family members who had tragically passed away at a very young age on the fourth side, and slipped the shade over the wooden candle stand.

As the darkness descended, people gathered around and set their lanterns afloat on the water. I said a prayer to my loved ones, and imagined they were having a party out on the water, unfettered by gravity or worldly cares, with the souls of the others being celebrated by their loved ones, and all of us assembled together were creating art in nature in celebration of eternal life.