When is the Ghost Festival in 2017? Why is the Ghost Festival called the Ghost Festival?
Introduction: There are 365 days in a year, and every day has its own meaning. There are also a variety of important festivals and anniversaries throughout the year. The Zhongyuan Festival is one of the important traditional festivals, and it is also known as the "Ghost Festival". So what is the festival connotation behind it? Let’s follow the editor to explore it in depth. The most important tradition in July is the Zhongyuan Festival. There have been many legends about the Zhongyuan Festival, and the key point is ancestor worship. On this day, relatives will go to the graves to worship their ancestors and pray for peace. Mr. Shuimo has compiled many elements about the Zhongyuan Festival, please feel free to check it out.When is the Ghost Festival in 2017?Tuesday, September 5, 2017 The 15th day of the seventh lunar month is the Ghost Festival. The 15th day of the first lunar month is called the Shangyuan Festival by the Han people, which is a Lantern Festival that has existed since ancient times. The 15th day of the seventh lunar month is called the Zhongyuan Festival by the Han people, when they worship their ancestors. The 15th day of the tenth lunar month is called the Xiayuan Festival by the Han people, when they eat cold food to commemorate the wise men. The Ghost Festival falls on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, and some fall on the 14th day of the seventh lunar month. It was the beginning of autumn, and some crops had matured. According to custom, people would worship their ancestors, offering sacrifices such as new rice to report the harvest to them. 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.Why is the Ghost Festival called the Ghost Festival?According to legend, every year from July 1st, the King of Hell orders the gates of hell to be opened wide, allowing the wronged souls and evil ghosts who have suffered in hell all year round to escape, wander for a short period of time, and enjoy the blood and food of the human world. That is why people call July the Ghost Month . People believe that this month is an unlucky month and do not get married or move house. In addition to worshiping their ancestors on this night, people also prepare some dishes, wine, rice, gold and silver paper, etc. and go to the intersection to worship ghosts and gods.The customs of the Zhongyuan Festival are quite complicated. It is not only the folk Ghost Festival, but also the Taoist Zhongyuan Festival and the Buddhist Yulan Festival, combining the customs of monks, Taoists and laymen. Taoism has the so-called Heavenly Official, Earthly Official, and Water Official, collectively known as the Three Officials. These three are representatives sent by the Jade Emperor to the human world. Every year they inspect the good and evil in the human world and report to the Heaven. The birthdays of the Three Officials are the 15th day of the first lunar month, the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, and the 15th day of the tenth lunar month respectively. These three days are also called the Three Yuan. The 15th day of the seventh month is called Zhongyuan, which is the time when the Earth Official reviews the lists and pardons sins. On this day, he would take out a thick roster and make marks on it based on the performance of the gods, mortals, and animals, and pardon sins and exempt from punishment. People hold some sacrificial activities on the day of the Ghost Festival to save the wandering ghosts, which should be related to the forgiveness of sins by the Earth God. July 15th is the Buddhist Ullambana Festival. It is said that Sakyamuni had a disciple named Mulian. Although his mother was young and beautiful, she had no good words and deeds, loved money and was stingy, and especially hated monks. After her death, she was reborn as an evil ghost. Mulian followed the Buddha's instructions and prepared hundreds of flavors and five fruits, various utensils, and put them in a basin to offer to monks from all directions on the fifteenth day of July. Only then did his mother escape from the evil ghost world and ascend to heaven. In view of this, the Buddha extended it and required Buddhist disciples to practice filial piety with all their heart. On the fifteenth day of July every year, they would prepare the Ullambana offering and offer alms to the Buddha and monks in order to repay their parents’ kindness. The significance of the Buddhist Ullambana Festival is in tune with the Confucian filial piety, and this day has become a ghost festival for the people to commemorate their deceased parents and ancestors. The "Yulanpen Festival" existed during the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang and became mature in the Song Dynasty. This festival was later adopted by Taoism and became the "Earth Official Festival" among the Three Officials (namely the Heavenly Official, the Earthly Official, and the Water Official) festivals. The Earth Official is in charge of hell, so people made up a story that: on this day the leaders had a day off and hell was unguarded, so the dead in the underworld would return to the human world along the light of the Milky Way. Therefore, every household releases river lanterns in the hope of continuing the Milky Way path among humans and welcoming the heroic spirits of their ancestors. Therefore, the Ghost Festival is also called the "Ghost Festival" . Summary: Through the above article, we know the specific time of the 2017 Zhongyuan Festival and the meaning behind the Zhongyuan Festival being called the Ghost Festival. We hope that everyone will have a deeper understanding of the Zhongyuan Festival, and at the same time deepen their understanding and love of traditional culture! |
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