What are the stories about the Ghost Festival? How do we remember the dead on this day?
The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the Zhongyuan Festival in Taoism, commonly known as the Ghost Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival in the folk, and the Yulan Festival in Buddhism. The Ghost Festival has the customs of worshiping ancestors (welcoming the deceased), releasing river lanterns, and burning paper ingots. It is a traditional Chinese folk festival. So, what stories do you know about the Ghost Festival? How do we remember the dead on this day? If you don’t understand, come and take a look at what the editor has to share! The seventh month of the lunar calendar is named Orchid Month because many varieties of orchids bloom in July with an incomparable fragrance. If you want to know whether the seventh month of the lunar calendar in 2020 is a good day, just go to Shuimoxiansheng.com for consultation!What are the stories about the Ghost Festival?】The first allusion <br /> The origin of the Zhongyuan Festival should be related to the popular land ancestor worship in ancient China. It is said that the birthday of the Heavenly Official is on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, which is called the Lantern Festival. Its main duty is to bring blessings to the world. The birthday of the God of Earth is on July 15th, which is called the Zhongyuan Festival. Its main duty is to forgive sins of the world. The birthday of the Water God is on October 15th, which is called the Wanyuan Festival. Its main responsibility is to relieve people from disasters.The Ghost Festival falls on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, commonly known as the Mid-Autumn Festival. Legend has it that on this day all ghosts are released from the underworld, and people generally hold activities to worship ghosts. Every family that has a new death has to visit the new grave, and usually they also offer sacrifices to lonely ghosts in the local area. Therefore, the entire festival is centered around worshiping ghosts, and it has become the largest ghost festival among the Chinese people. July is the beginning of autumn, when some crops mature. People usually worship their ancestors and offer sacrifices with new rice to report the harvest to them. Volume 1 of "Dongjing Menghualu" by Meng Yuanlao of the Song Dynasty said: "The day before the Zhongyuan Festival, people buy lotus leaves to cover the tabletop during sacrifices. They also buy hemp nests and tie them to the legs of the table. This is to inform the ancestors of the autumn harvest." In July, the minor autumn crops mature. The Chinese, who value filial piety, have to report to their ancestors and ask them to taste the new crops, so ancestor worship is a routine in July. It is said that the underground palace controls the gate to hell during the Zhongyuan Festival. On the Zhongyuan Festival, the underground palace opens the gate to hell, which is also the day when hell opens. The deceased ancestors can return home for reunion, so it is also the Ghost Festival. People set up Taoist temples and put steamed buns for the wandering ghosts to eat. On this day, people worship their ancestors, visit graves, and light lotus lanterns to light the way home for the deceased. The Taoist temple held a grand ceremony to pray for good fortune and to liberate the souls of the dead. The Zhongyuan ritual is to forgive the sins of the dead souls, but it can never completely remove the sins, it can only alleviate some of them. I hope they can rest in peace soon. During the rituals, they not only pray for the souls of the dead, but also provide relief to the homeless souls and those who sacrificed their lives for the country and died on the battlefield. The incense money obtained during the rituals is mainly used to purchase sacrificial offerings. 】The second story <br /> The origin of the "Yulan Festival" in Buddhist stories has the following story. It is said that when the Buddha Shakyamuni was alive, he accepted ten disciples. One of them was a practitioner named Mulian. His parents died before he attained enlightenment. Because Mulian missed his dead mother very much, he used his divine eyes to check on his mother's life in the underworld. It turned out that they had become hungry ghosts, with nothing to eat or drink, and their situation was pitiful. Mulian felt very sad after seeing this, so he used his magical powers to bring some food to his mother. Unfortunately, the food turned into flames as soon as it reached her mouth. Mulian was very sad after seeing this situation, so he told Sakyamuni about it. The Buddha taught him that his mother had committed many sins when she was alive, so she fell into the realm of hungry ghosts after her death and would never be able to redeem herself. This sin could not be resolved by him alone, and he had to gather the power of everyone. So "Mulian" joined forces with a group of monks to hold a large worship ceremony to save the souls of the dead. Later, this legend was passed down to later generations and gradually formed a folk custom. Every year in the middle of the seventh lunar month, people would slaughter chickens and ducks, burn incense and clothes, and worship the hungry ghosts from the underworld in order to resolve their grievances and prevent them from harming the world. Over time, the custom of Ghost Festival was formed. How to Commemorate the Dead on the Ghost Festival】Ribbon Worship <br /> The yellow ribbon has the meaning of mourning, missing, blessing, hope and expectation. Hanging a yellow ribbon to pray for the deceased relatives is a civilized, low-carbon, environmentally friendly and novel way of worship.】Online memorial <br /> The family members of the deceased can register a virtual "tombstone" for the deceased on the relevant website, attach relevant information such as a brief biography of the deceased, enter the name of the person who is paying respects, and choose flowers, candles or messages to express their thoughts. 】Flower sacrifice <br /> Flower sacrifice is a new way of sacrifice in modern times and also a form of green funeral. There is no need to deliberately pursue the meaning of flowers. Using the language of colors is enough to convey grief. 】Wish card sacrifice <br /> Sacrificial wish cards express grief, low-carbon green environmental protection set a new trend. |
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