Quote:
Originally Posted by Sumeragi
Nope. The "bon" is 盆, the shorten form of Ullambana (于蘭盆會 or 盂蘭盆會). It means "great suffering", and so the festival is to ameliorate the suffering of the "Urabanna" while remembering and appreciating ancestors and their sacrifices.
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And to add to Sumeragi's post:
The modern word "bonfire"
[Middle English bonnefire : bon, bone; see bone + fir, fire; see fire.]
bonfire [ˈbɒnˌfaɪə].
Obon is far older than the "english incursion" into Japanese linguistics.