Both abroad and at home, there is a ghost festival. The foreign Ghost Festival is Halloween. People dress up as ghosts and revel. Children go door-to-door to ask for candy, which is very lively. But in China, Ghost Festival is different. People fear ghosts and gods, so it is very serious. Do you know what month is the Chinese Ghost Festival in 2019? Is it What day?
What's the date of Chinese Ghost Festival in 2019
Chinese Ghost Festival
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Every year on the 15th of July of the lunar calendar is the Chinese Ghost Festival, which is also known as the "Yulan Festival" and the Zhongyuan Festival. But in China's rural areas, people call "ghost day" or "July Festival".
As the name suggests, "Ghost Festival" is named because of the festival activities. Folklore: people become ghosts after death, and all go to the sky and are under the control of heaven. Only from the seventh to the fifteenth day of July can they return to the world to visit their relatives. Therefore, every year after the seventh day of July (Qiqiao Festival), every family is busy preparing activities to worship their ancestors. As for the "wild ghosts" who have no family or relatives, they can only roam in the wilderness, so in this period of time, there is a legend that "ghosts cry" and & hellip; & hellip; are heard on the barren mountains.
The legend of Ghost Festival
It is said that when Buddha Sakyamuni was alive, he took in ten disciples. One of them, Mu Lian, had his parents dead before he got the Tao. As Mu Lian was very worried about his mother's death, he used Tianyan Tong to observe his mother's life in the underworld. It turned out that they had become starving ghosts and had no food or drink. Their situation was pitiful. After seeing this, Mulian felt heartache, so he used his magic power to take some food to his mother. Unfortunately, as soon as the food was delivered to his mouth, it immediately turned into a flame. When Mu Lian saw this situation, he told Sakyamuni about the situation. The Buddha taught him that his mother planted a lot of sins when he was alive, so he fell into the path of starvation after death, He could not solve this evil obstacle alone. He had to gather the strength of all the people. Therefore, Mulian held a large-scale worship ceremony with the same eminent monks to surpass the souls of the dead. Later, this legend has been passed down to later generations, and gradually formed a folk custom. Every year in the middle of July of the lunar calendar, people will kill chickens and ducks, burn incense and burn clothes, and pay homage to the hungry ghosts coming from the underworld, so as to resolve their grievances and avoid harming the world. Over time, the custom of ghost festival has been formed.
Legend of Ghost Festival
Ghost Festival sacrifice
Worshiping ancestors (ghosts) is an activity of people's longing for their ancestors. It is a matter of course. As for the saying of "wild ghost", it is absurd at first, but it is reasonable to think about it carefully. This is not our custom here. When we burn paper money for our ancestors, we do not forget to burn some pocket money for the ghosts. When we pour rice in the evening, we prepare it for the ghosts of the past, so that those who have no owners can also have some pocket money. It is fair.
There are different arrangements for "Ghost Festival" in different parts of the country. The most common thing is that before the 13th, every household had to do a thorough cleaning, especially for the utensils for worship, such as tables, chairs, benches, tableware, incense burners and lamps; In the past few days of Ghost Festival, we should pay attention to etiquette in words and deeds. We should avoid swearing and quarrelling. The implication is to give our ancestors a good impression of family happiness and peace when they go home, so that they can come back at ease.
Therefore, on ghost day, every family should prepare the offerings such as sugar cakes, fruits, good food, good wine, good tobacco and tea. In this way, one is to show respect for the ancestors, and the other is to show the ability of children and grandchildren to manage their families. The important thing is to put the bag on the table. Generally, on the seventh and eighth day of the seventh month of the seventh month of July, we should take our ancestors home before the twelfth day, and order incense and sacrifice three times a day. 14、 On the 15th day, the whole family stopped all farm work (equivalent to a holiday) and concentrated their efforts on the activities of offering sacrifices, holding solemn worship ceremonies, and having a lively dinner party. On this day, all the paper offerings were burned to show the ancestors to take back to enjoy.
Ghost Festival
Taboos of Ghost Festival
Do not pat others on the shoulder: this taboo is related to the folk custom. The folk believe that each person has three fires. If they gather on their shoulders and heads, ghosts will not dare to approach them. Therefore, in Zhongyuan Pudu, which has the largest number of ghosts, randomly patting others on the shoulder is not to put out the other party's fire and let the ghost find trouble with him?
Taboo of physiological period: the folk think that women's body is not clean during the physiological period, such as starting work, sacrificial ceremony and other things should not be present to watch, in order to avoid offending the gods, causing misfortune, or making the work unable to proceed smoothly. Regardless of whether this statement is valid or not, female compatriots in the physiological period will really lead to their own magnetic field instability due to physical conditions, and are vulnerable to the influence of other strong magnetic fields, so we should be more cautious.
Avoid saying the word "ghost": on the day of Pudu in Zhongyuan, ghosts almost poured out and were everywhere. Especially at the scene of Pudu Dharma Association, it must be full of ghosts. Therefore, in the mid yuan Pudu, it's better to be cautious in words and deeds. In addition to avoiding the word "ghost", don't talk nonsense. Be careful that ghosts are around you!
Don't trample on the ghost paper: the ghost paper is a sacrifice to the ghost. When it is burned, the ghosts will gather around and grab it. If you trample on the paper when burning it, it will not hinder their action. When the ghosts are angry, it will be bad for you.
Avoid hanging clothes in the middle of the night: wet clothes are easy to let free radio waves stick to them, and it is not easy to get away. In the ghost month where ghosts are everywhere, hanging clothes in the middle of the night is like setting a trap to catch ghosts. Who do you want to ask for?
Avoid sleeping with dishevelled hair: in ghost month, there are wandering ghosts everywhere. If you are dishevelled, be careful to be mistaken by them for the same kind and force you to get up and chat.
Avoid celebrating in the middle of the night: people born in July are a bit pitiful. When celebrating at night, some "people" who do not know will sing happy birthday songs together. It is better to celebrate in the daytime instead.
Don't catch dragonflies and katydids: people think that these two insects are the embodiment of ghosts. Catch them randomly and be careful to attract ghosts.