http://www.candle-night.org/en/ ja Copyright 2011 Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:39:42 +0900 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.1 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Turn off your lights for two hours from 8 to 10 p.m. on the evening of December 22, 2011. Do something special . . . Read a book with your child by candlelight. Enjoy a quiet dinner with a special person. This night can mean many things for many people. A time to save energy, to think about peace, to think about people in distant lands who share our planet. http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/candle-night-summerwinter-sols.html http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/candle-night-summerwinter-sols.html 2100_what_new Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:39:42 +0900 Turn off the lights, take it slow. This night can mean many things for many people. A time to save energy, to think about peace, to think about people in distant lands who share our planet. On the evening of summer/winter solstice, June 22, 2011. http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/candle-night-2011-june-22-2011.html http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/candle-night-2011-june-22-2011.html 2100_what_new Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:44:36 +0900 Candle Night Newsletter December Special 2010.pdf]]> http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/2110-news-lettar/topic-th.html http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/2110-news-lettar/topic-th.html 2110_news_lettar Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:04:42 +0900 One of the widespread practices is taking "yuzu-yu." Several slices or a whole "yuzu," a kind of citrus, is put in a cloth bag, then the bag is placed into bathwater. It is said in Japan that if you take a yuzu bath on the winter solstice, you will never catch a cold during winter. It is also said that the strong smell of yuzu can remove evil from the body and purify it. In fact, yuzu baths smell good and an ingredient of the yuzu skin is known to be good for skin protection. Another well-known practice is to eat "kabocha," or winter squash, on the day of the winter solstice. Japanese winter squash is full of vitamin A and carotene and thus good for preventing colds and strokes. Although the harvesting season of squash is from summer to autumn, it can be well preserved and thus valued in winter when other vegetables are scarce. In addition, the phonetic sound of "kabocha," also read as "nan-ki-n", is said to be auspicious. The sound, "n" is a rhyme for "u-n" (meaning fortune in Japanese) and therefore some vegetables that end in "n," like "dai-kon" (Japanese radishes), nin-jin (carrots) and ren-kon (lotus roots) are also regarded as auspicious vegetables. There are some shrine festivals related to the winter solstice in Japan. One is "Toji-sai," the Winter Solstice Festival, held by the Issan Shrine in Saitama City in Saitama Prefecture. At the shrine, they make a path in the middle of a bonfire. The practice is called "hi-watari," or firewalking in English. Visitors walk down the path barefoot, wishing for the removal of impurities of the past year, and for good health and family safety for the coming year. After they safely finish their firewalking, yuzu fruit is given to the visitors. Thus, the festival is also called "Yuzu Festival." (Taeko Ohno) December 22, 2010]]> http://www.candle-night.org/en/candle-story/the-winter-solsticepractices-i.html http://www.candle-night.org/en/candle-story/the-winter-solsticepractices-i.html 2500_candle_story Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:44:33 +0900 Photo from the article: Message Sent from Antarctica Candle Night encourages people to spend some quality time in natural lighting, away from excessive electric lights. Please share a little moment with us and discover a new sense of values.]]> http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/candle-night-winter-solstice-t.html http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/candle-night-winter-solstice-t.html 2100_what_new Thu, 25 Nov 2010 15:23:05 +0900 Candle Night Newsletter #38.pdf]]> http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/2110-news-lettar/topics-c.html http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/2110-news-lettar/topics-c.html 2110_news_lettar Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:14:03 +0900 Communication via Twitter and Facebook appear to have developed more Candle Night fans in 2010. As the number of Tweets and Facebook postings increase, Candle Night has gained more attention. The number of followers and fans increased every week towards the summer solstice; especially the Candle Night Facebook Fan Page. It received many feedback comments and "Like" responses from around the world. On June 21 and July 7, 2010, Candle Night opened a temporary webcasting station for two hours. It featured the "heart" of Candle Night by telling stories and talking about Candle Night. The guest speakers of the program were; Candle Night key promoters Kazuyoshi Fujita and Shin'ichi Tsuji, Japanese singer Tokiko Kato, Kate Sakai, and MCed by Saiko Ito of Candle Night Committee. Fujita and Tsuji gave some important messages on Candle Night in their talk; "There should be a million ways to enjoy Candle Night. We just need to be as we feel." "We don't need material wealth. What we really need is spiritual wealth--it is visible when artificial lights are turned off." Many tweets were posted during the program and Ito read the messages and gave comments in real time. From the tweets, we could see that young people, particularly in their teens and 20's, sought for "a sense of connectedness" and were interested in "slow" life through Candle Night. (Taeko Ohno) September 7, 2010 http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/candle-night-summer-solstice-i.html http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/candle-night-summer-solstice-i.html 2100_what_new Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:11:10 +0900 A Candle Night event titled "Tsuchi no Tomoshibi, Kaze no Tomoshibi" (Lights of Soil, Lights of Winds in English) was held at the Solviva Organic Farm on June 19, 2010. The farm--a beautiful terraced rice paddy field--is located in a mountainous area of Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture and commands a fine view of Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan. Under the theme of protecting a historical terraced paddy field and the global environment, 50 participants lit about 1,000 candles. The candles produced a beautiful "move of lights" all around the terraced paddy field. Terraced paddy fields were seen all over Japan in the past. They use natural slopes in mountainous areas. Each area of a paddy field is very small. Maintaining these areas require heavy manual labor because it is difficult to use machinery, and thus productivity is very low. The use of terraced paddy fields has decreased since the 1970s due to the national policy of rice acreage reduction and aging producers. Since 1990, the terraced rice paddy fields have regained popularity because of their function of protecting the ecosystem, preventing floods and replenishing water sources, as well as food production. It has also renewed its cultural value as one of Japan's traditional landscapes. However, many remaining rice paddy fields remain abandoned and have not been revived. Solviva Organic Farm is a place where you can enjoy beautiful Lake Biwa. In spring, wild flowers bloom around the terraced paddy fields; in summer, swinging grains of rice; in autumn, colorful leaves; and in winter, a snowy landscape. Two years ago, farmer Koichi Yoshikawa changed his farming practice from organic farming to "natural farming," using spring water from the area. In the natural farming process, they don't use machinery nor tilling. They don't get rid of weeds, either. Rice grows in natural surroundings as is. Yoshikawa says, "when we think of the future, it will become more and more important to live without depending on fossil fuels. We started Candle Night because it gives us an opportunity to protect nature, not to put more burden on the earth, and to feel the light of the moon and the stars. Their Candle Night--Lights of Soil, Lights of Winds--has become part of the "Satoyama Life Project" to rejuvenate local communities. People from the area and students from nearby cities cooperate with each other to hold the event. "Tsuchi no Tomoshibi" (Lights of Soil) means lights shed on the beauty of the soil; while "Kaze no Tomoshibi" (Lights of Soil) means the communication among people who join and participate in the event. Participants of the event said, "It was interesting to get together with people with different backgrounds in a place far away from their everyday lives. Candle Night connected one another and worked as a catalyst to change people." "By flickering candlelight, it was a good opportunity to think about the meaning of "Tsuchi no Tomoshibi" and "Kaze no Tomoshibi" based on the terraced rice paddy fields and their natural surroundings." "It is a once-a-year event and very special, but I hope the feeling of being thankful to nature becomes our everyday thought." (Taeko Ohno) September 7, 2010]]> http://www.candle-night.org/en/event/event-report/candle-night-in-solviva-organi.html http://www.candle-night.org/en/event/event-report/candle-night-in-solviva-organi.html 2220_event_report Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:58:26 +0900 http://feel.candle-night.org/scape/]]> http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/post-your-message-on-candlesca.html http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/post-your-message-on-candlesca.html 2100_what_new Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:37:59 +0900 Turn off your lights for two hours on the evening of the summer solstice, June 21, from 8 to 10 p.m. Happy Candle Night Candle Night Committee http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/turn-off-your-lights-take-it-s.html http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/turn-off-your-lights-take-it-s.html 2100_what_new Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:34:49 +0900 http://www.toex.co.jp/show/news/candle.htm (Japanese)]]> http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/toyo-exterior-handing-out-cand.html http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/toyo-exterior-handing-out-cand.html 2100_what_new Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:52:37 +0900 http://www.sapporo-candle-night.com/2010/ (Japanese) ]]> http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/sapporo-candle-night-2010.html http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/sapporo-candle-night-2010.html 2100_what_new Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:54:45 +0900 http://www.candle-night.org/en/candle-story/atomic-bomb-fires-are-still-bu.html Time: June 18, 2010 18:00-21:00 Place: Zenryoji Temple (7 min. walk from Totsuka station) For more information, please check the URL below: http://ameblo.jp/cafedelaterra/ (Japanese)]]> http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/zenryoji-temple-candle-nightca.html http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/zenryoji-temple-candle-nightca.html 2100_what_new Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:11:03 +0900 http://tokyomilkyway.org/?cat=14 (Japanese) ]]> http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/tokyo-milky-way-2010.html http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/tokyo-milky-way-2010.html 2100_what_new Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:15:29 +0900 http://atnd.org/events/5465 (Japanese)]]> http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/candle-night-in-okunikko-tochi.html http://www.candle-night.org/en/what-new/candle-night-in-okunikko-tochi.html 2100_what_new Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:59:41 +0900