TIL during Obon, an annual family reunion holiday in Japan, the spirits of ancestors are believed to revisit household altars, and to help them come back home and return, a cucumber horse and an eggplant cow are crafted as vessels, respectively.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obon
#til #todayilearned
https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1gv1xct/til_during_obon_an_annual_family_reunion_holiday/