When is the Ghost Festival in 2021? What is the origin of the Ghost Festival?

When is the Ghost Festival in 2021? What is the origin of the Ghost Festival?
The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the traditional Chinese "Zhongyuan Festival", which is also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, Ghost Festival, and Earth God Festival. The most important traditional custom of the Ghost Festival is to worship ancestors and worship the dead souls. So when is the Ghost Festival in 2021? What is the origin of the Ghost Festival? Let’s take a look at the following content!

When is the Ghost Festival in 2021?

The specific time of the 2021 Ghost Festival is: Sunday, August 22, 2021, which is the 15th day of the seventh month of the Year of the Ox.

What is the story behind the Ghost Festival?

Legend 1
The 14th day of the seventh lunar month every year is the Zhongyuan Festival, also known as the Ghost Festival or the Yulan Festival. It is a major festival to worship lonely ghosts. The Zhongyuan Festival originated from Taoism, and was later changed to the Yulan Festival commonly known as Buddhism. The Ullambana Festival means "hanging upside down" in Hindi. "Hanging upside down" refers to the fact that the mother of Mulian, one of the ten great disciples of Sakyamuni, suffered from the pain of hungry ghosts after her death and could not eat. Later, Mulian received help from Sakyamuni, and offered hundreds of flavors and five fruits to the gods and Buddhas of the ten directions and used the merits to save his mother. Therefore, in order to commemorate the lonely souls, a Pudu ceremony is held in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, also known as the Ghost Festival. Generally speaking, people in ancient times were reluctant to hold important events such as marriages in this month.
Legend II
Regarding the origin of Ghost Festival, it is said that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, also known as "Lord Yama", had his mother who died and went to the underworld. She was locked up in a cell and suffered all kinds of tortures of the eighteen levels of hell. Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was a filial son, and he could not bear to see his mother suffer, so on the fifteenth day of July, he gave in to his private feelings and asked the little ghost guarding the cell to secretly open the cell door to let his mother out. Unexpectedly, as soon as the cell door was opened, the little ghosts swarmed out and ran to the human world to harm the people. That's why there is a saying that "On the fifteenth day of July, ghosts run around." Those ghosts who ran back to their hometowns asked their families for money so that they could use it to live and to open up their joints, hoping to be reborn as soon as possible. Later people designated this day as "Ghost Festival". On Ghost Festival, people burn paper money and place offerings to commemorate the souls of their deceased relatives.

10 taboos of the Ghost Festival

1. Hang a wind chime at the head of the bed: Wind chimes are likely to attract good brothers, and sleeping is the time when they are most likely to be "invaded".
2. Night travel: People with weak horoscopes should never travel at night, otherwise they will only invite trouble.
3. Burning ghost paper in non-specific occasions: Ghost paper is burned for good brothers, gold paper is burned for gods, and the result of burning ghost paper will only attract more good brothers.
4. Stealing the offerings: These are foods that belong to good brothers. Using them without their consent will only bring yourself difficult-to-solve misfortunes.
5. Whistle: If you whistle at night, be careful that your good friends like you.
6. Calling names: When strolling at night, never call out names. Try to use code names to avoid your good friends remembering your name.
7. Swimming: At this time, your good brothers will play the game of "ghost lifting foot" with you. If you are not careful, your life will be lifted away.
8. Random Gazing: Good brothers like to hide and scare people. If you are scared by random looking, that is the best time for them to invade you.
9. Place the banyan tree at the doorstep: because the banyan tree is a shade-gathering plant and is also the favorite of good brothers, unless you want good brothers to come to your house and visit.
10. Staying up late: It is late at night when people are at their weakest, and it is also late at night when ghosts are at their strongest. In comparison, who will win?

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