What is celebrated on the Ghost Festival on July 15th? What customs and activities are there during the Ghost Festival?
July 15th is the Ghost Festival, which is one of the "Three Yuan" festivals. Want to know more about the Ghost Festival? In the seventh month of the lunar calendar, there is a flag waving on the earth; in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, there is a desire surging in the sky. Visit Shuimo.com to learn more details about the seventh lunar month of 2021.What does the Ghost Festival celebrate?The Zhongyuan Festival is a traditional sacrificial festival in China. Many people think that this kind of festival should be a sad festival, but in fact, the Zhongyuan Festival also has the meaning of celebrating the harvest and thanking the earth .The origin of the Zhongyuan Festival can be traced back to the ancestor worship and related sacrifices in ancient times. July is an auspicious month and a month for filial piety. The middle of July is a folk festival in early autumn to celebrate the harvest and thank the earth. When some crops are ripe, people traditionally worship their ancestors and offer sacrifices such as new rice to report the autumn harvest to their ancestors. Therefore, the cultural core of the Zhongyuan Festival is respecting ancestors and being filial. The name of the Zhongyuan Festival originated from Taoism after the Eastern Han Dynasty (Buddhism is the Yulan Festival). Taoism has the "Three Yuan Theory", "The Heaven Official bestows blessings in the Shangyuan, the Earth Official forgives sins in the Zhongyuan, and the Water Official relieves disasters in the Xiayuan. The name "Zhongyuan" comes from this. Buddhism calls the 15th day of July the "Yulanpen Festival". In the Tang Dynasty, when the rulers admired Taoism, the Taoist Zhongyuan Festival began to flourish, and gradually "Zhongyuan" was fixed as the name of the festival. The festival was set on July 15 and has been passed down to this day. What activities are there during the Ghost Festival?1. Ancestor worshipThe Zhongyuan Festival is a traditional festival for worshipping ancestors. The worship ceremony is usually held in the evening of mid-July. The tablets of the ancestors are taken out one by one and placed respectfully on a table specially used for worship. Incense is then burned in front of each ancestor's tablet. Tea and food are offered three times a day, in the morning, noon and evening. Because customs vary slightly from place to place, the ways of celebrating festivals are also different, and the time of festivals may also vary. 2. Burning paper Legend has it that on the day of the Ghost Festival, the gates of hell open wide, so deceased relatives will return to the human world to visit their descendants, who then need to burn paper money and send money to their ancestors. Usually when burning paper at the grave, a few sheets are left to be burned at the crossroads. The purpose is to give some alms to homeless ghosts so that they will not snatch the money given to the ancestors. 3. Eat duck Many places across the country choose to eat duck during the 15th day of the seventh lunar month because ducks swim in the water, which symbolizes the lighting of river lanterns and praying for the salvation of the soul. There is also a saying that "duck" is a homophone for "pressure", and eating duck is to suppress the "soul". This statement is a bit far-fetched, because in many places "duck" and "pressure" have different pronunciations. People in Dongguan usually eat lotus root stewed with duck. 4. Burning the bundle On the night of the 14th or 15th of July every year, people burn incense and firecrackers outside the door, and at the same time "burn bundles" (also called "offering bundles"). "Burning bundles" means taking a stack of paper money and sealing it into small envelopes, on which are written the title and name of the recipient, the number of envelopes received, the name of the person burning the paper and the time, and then burning them for deceased relatives and ancestors. 5. Burning street clothes In Hong Kong, there has always been a custom of burning street clothes during the Ghost Festival. Every year in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, Hong Kong people would bring incense, candles, gold and silver paper and some offerings such as tofu and rice to worship on the roadside after dark, with the aim of providing those homeless souls with clothes to keep warm and food to fill their stomachs. 6. Release river lanterns There is a custom of releasing river lanterns during the Zhongyuan Festival, which is said to have evolved from the custom of hanging lanterns during the Shangyuan Festival (Lantern Festival). People believe that the Shangyuan Festival is a human festival, while the Zhongyuan Festival is a ghost festival. Humans are yang, ghosts are yin, land is yang, and water is yin. Therefore, lanterns are hung on land during the Shangyuan Festival, while those are hung on water during the Zhongyuan Festival. 7. Pray for a good harvest Offering sacrifices on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month is often associated with praying for a good harvest. On the night of Shi Gu, every household would burn incense at their doorsteps and pray for a good rice harvest. They would also stick incense sticks into the ground, which was called "butian" (transplanting rice seedlings). The more they planted, the better, as it symbolized a good rice harvest in autumn. Do you want to know your own Bazi? Want to figure out where your golden marriage is? Click on the [Premium Calculation] below to calculate your horoscope and fortune! |
<<: Are babies born on the Ghost Festival celestial beings? Are celestial beings good?
Recommend
Is it good for a dog baby born on June 6, 2018? Are you destined to be rich?
A baby is the fruit of the love of his parents, so...
What constellation corresponds to May 27th of the lunar calendar, 2018? How to distinguish between ambiguity and sincerity of Cancer men.
Introduction: The twelve zodiac signs are Western ...
What is the date of the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month in 2020? Is it a good day to get married?
Introduction: Every day has both lunar calendar an...
What is the date of the first day of the twelfth lunar month in 2017? Is it an auspicious day?
Introduction: Sacrifice is an important traditiona...
Is it auspicious to open a business on the Jingzhe solar term on February 12, 2020? What day is Jingzhe in 2020?
Introduction: You also need to choose an auspiciou...
Feng Shui analysis of wedding taboos
Introduction: Holidays are also a time when weddin...
Is the day after the Double Ninth Festival in 2019 an auspicious day? Will there be a one-day holiday for the Double Ninth Festival?
Introduction: Every day will have good and bad luc...
Fate analysis of people born in the Year of the Dog on the Spring Equinox. Is it good to be born in the Year of the Dog on the Spring Equinox?
Whether the fate of the zodiac dog is good or not ...
Which constellation is the 26th day of the first lunar month in 2022? What is the boy’s view on love?
The first month of the lunar calendar is almost ov...
Where is the God of Wealth on August 14, 2017?
August always brings people the sweet scent of os...
Analysis of the good and bad days on the ninth day of the fourth lunar month in 2020. Can I sign the contract?
Many people sign contracts every day, but not ever...
Do girls born on the eleventh day of the first lunar month in 2020 have a strong destiny? What is the zodiac sign for those born on the eleventh day of the first lunar month in 2020?
Introduction: Although each person cannot choose t...
Is the Double Ninth Festival on September 9, 2019 an auspicious day for groundbreaking? Check the auspicious and inauspicious times of the Double Ninth Festival in 2019!
Introduction: The Double Ninth Festival can also b...
Is it a good time to get a haircut on June 24th of the lunar calendar in 2018?
Introduction: The hot summer is still here, frogs ...
In which direction is the God of Wealth located on the 29th day of the fourth lunar month in 2017?
Introduction: Legend has it that the God of Wealth...