What activities are there during the Ghost Festival? Is the 15th day of the seventh lunar month a good day?
The Zhongyuan Festival is a traditional cultural festival with Chinese characteristics. It is also known as the "Ghost Festival". The Ghost Festival has special significance to people. People often choose to worship their ancestors on this day. So what activities are there during the Zhongyuan Festival? Is the 15th day of the seventh lunar month a good day? Let’s take a look with the editor. The Ghost Festival is on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month every year. On this day, everyone is very particular about how to celebrate, what should and should not be done. The Fortune Teller website lists the relevant factors for you.What activities are there during the Ghost Festival?Burning street clothes <br /> This is a folk custom that has been preserved in Hong Kong since its founding. As soon as the seventh month of the lunar calendar begins, people will bring incense, candles, gold and silver paper, and some offerings such as tofu and rice to worship on the roadside after dark. The purpose of people "burning street clothes" is to provide those homeless souls with clothes to keep warm and food to fill their stomachs.Making Eggplant Cakes <br /> It is believed that eggplant cakes can be used as dry food for deceased ancestors to take to the Ullambana Festival. Every Ghost Festival, every household in Nanjing makes eggplant cakes, which is made by cutting fresh eggplant into shreds, mixing it with flour, and frying it in oil. In fact, eggplant pancake is now a common home-cooked dish. If you want to eat it, you can make a plate of it anytime to satisfy your craving. Burning paper <br /> In Sichuan Province, it is customary to burn paper during the Zhongyuan Festival to worship ancestors. That is, a stack of paper money is put into a small envelope with the recipient's title and name, the number of envelopes received, the name of the person who burned the silk and the time written on it. It is said that the gates of hell close on July 15th, and every family must give gifts to orphans and children. Eating Rice Noodles <br /> During the Ghost Festival, Dongguan has the custom of eating rice noodles, and it is common in almost all of Dongguan. Of course, the way of eating rice noodles is different in different areas. Pray for a good harvest <br /> Sacrificing to lonely souls during the Ghost Festival 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. Eating duck <br /> On the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, the Ghost Festival, people in many parts of the country choose to eat duck. Why? It turns out that "鸭" means "压", which is a homonym for "鸭". Eating duck is to suppress ghosts. People in Dongguan usually eat lotus root stewed with duck. In Duling County of Shandong Province, the Zhongyuan Festival is called "Pinching Mouth Festival" by the locals, and every family has the custom of eating simple meals. In Dongxian Township, Jiangsu Province, many villagers eat flatbread (a dustpan-shaped food made of flour and sugar) on the day of the Ghost Festival. In Tiantai, Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, they eat "jiaobing", a food similar to spring rolls, during the Ghost Festival. Ancestor worship <br /> The Ancestor Worship Festival is on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, so it is simply called "Mid-July" ancestor worship. People believe that their ancestors will return home to visit their descendants at this time, so they need to worship their ancestors. The worship ceremony is usually held in the evening before the end of July and is not limited to a specific day. Worshiping the land and crops <br /> On July 15, people still worship the land and crops. Scatter the offerings into the fields. After burning the paper, the colorful paper is cut into strips and wrapped around the ears of crops. Legend has it that it can avoid hailstorms and ensure a good harvest in autumn. In some places, people also go to the Hou Tu Temple to hold sacrifices. In Dingxiang County, the folk custom is to hang hemp and grain on the door. Dough Sculpture <br /> Before the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, dough sculpture activities are popular among women, especially in northern Shanxi. A family steamed flower buns, and the neighbors came to help. First, according to the actual number of people in the family (including married daughters and sons-in-law, grandchildren, married sons and daughters-in-law, grandchildren, etc.), a big flower bun is pinched for each person. The flower buns given to younger generations should be pinched into a flat shape, called a "mianyang", which means a lamb kneeling on its knees to drink milk, hoping that the younger generations will not forget the grace of their parents' upbringing; the flower buns given to older generations should be pinched into a human shape, called a "mianren", which means a house full of children and grandchildren, and a long life; the flower buns given to peers should be pinched into a fish shape, called a "mianyu", which means abundance year after year. Go to the temple to pray for blessings <br /> Prepare vegetarian food and fruits to go to the temple, offer them to the Buddha and monks, recite the Ksitigarbha Sutra and mantras, repay the kindness of parents, and pray for the deceased ancestors. Release sky lanterns <br /> There are two interpretations of releasing sky lanterns on Ghost Festival. One is to release the ghosts in your home with sky lanterns to take away bad luck, the farther the better, so that these ghosts will never come back. At this time, it is very taboo to let other people's sky lanterns fall into your own place. If they fall, they must be released again. The second is that every family hopes that their deceased ancestors can enter the paradise. Lighting sky lanterns on Ghost Festival is to illuminate the way for the ancestors who are preparing to ascend to the paradise in the underworld. Is the 15th day of the seventh lunar month a good day?The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is called the Shangyuan Festival, which is the Lantern Festival and has existed since ancient times; the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is called the Zhongyuan Festival, which is used to worship ancestors; the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month is called the Xiayuan Festival, which is used to eat cold food and commemorate the wise. The Ghost Festival falls on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, and on the 14th day of the seventh lunar month in some areas.The Zhongyuan Festival originally fell in the beginning of autumn, when some crops had matured. People would worship their ancestors according to custom, offering sacrifices such as new rice to report the harvest to their ancestors. Therefore, every Ghost Festival, every family worships their ancestors and performs offerings according to the rituals. On July 15th, people visit tombs and worship their ancestors. Overseas Chinese will send small amounts of money during the four festivals: Qingming, Zhongyuan, Winter Solstice and New Year's Day. Otherwise, they will be regarded as disrespectful to their ancestors, unfilial to their elders, irresponsible to their wives and good-for-nothings. Legend has it that on the day of the Ghost Festival, all ghosts will be released from the underworld, and people will generally hold activities to worship ghosts. Every family that has a new death must visit the new grave, and usually offer sacrifices to the wandering ghosts in the local area, making it one of the largest sacrificial festivals among the Chinese people. |
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