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I was explaining O-Bon, the Japanese summer festival of the dead, to a non-Japanese friend, and he asked whether it was the same as the Ching Ming festival, where Chinese families visit their ancestral graves in the springtime, or maybe like the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival later in the year. I was stumped. I don't know much about Chinese customs but considering the huge Chinese influence on Japanese culture I wouldn't be surprised if they were indeed related. Are they?