Chinese Ghost Festival

Just as the West has Halloween for ghost and souls, the Chinese have a holiday to fete the departed spirits of the underworld. The Hungry Ghost Festival falls on the 14th night of the seventh lunar month. It is a popular occasion celebrated throughout China on that very night and the day that follows.

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The Origin of Hungry Ghost Festival
The Hungry Ghost Festival has its roots in the Buddhist festival Ullambana, and also in Daoist culture. In the Tang Dynasty, the Buddhist festival Ullambana and its traditional festivities were mixed and celebrated on one day. Thus, the Ghost Festival has a special meaning for all Buddhists.




The Chinese believe that the dead become ghosts who roam between Heaven and Earth on the day of their death. Spirits without descendants to make offerings to them are fed during the ghost festival, so that they may not cause trouble to the living. This custom, an extension of the traditional Chinese notion of 'universal love', was started after the legend "Mulien Saving his Mother from Hades", giving Ghost festival a dimension of filial piety.




Customs of the Hungry Ghost Festival
Traditionally, ancestor worship was an important part of the festivals. with activities including preparing ritualistic offerings of food, and burning ghost money and bags containing cloth to please the visiting ghosts and spirits of one's ancestors, as well as other deities. Other activities include, burying and releasing miniature paper boats and lanterns in rivers, which signifies "giving directions to the lost ghosts and spirits of the ancestors and other deities." A very solemn festival of ancestor worship, it nevertheless represents a connection between ancestors and their descendants, the living and the dead, earth and heaven, as well as body and soul.






Taboos in the Ghost Month
In Chinese tradition, the seventh month in the Chinese calendar is called the Ghost Month, in which ghosts and spirits, including those of deceased ancestors, come out from the underground world to visit earth. The Hungry Ghost Festival is the climax of a series of the Ghost Month celebrations. It is said that the ghosts would wander on the streets at night, so people are advised not to go out at night. There are also many other taboos: moving a house, opening a business, and holding a wedding ceremony should all be avoided, swimming and other water sports are also shunned. If a child is born on this day, their birth date would usually be changed when registered or celebrated to remove any doubt that they might be in contact with a ghost. If someone dies on this day it would upset the family, as it is believed that the deceased would leave with the ghosts.

Although the romantic festival of Chinese Valentine's Day falls in the same month, the ghosts still make a strong impression on people's minds. It is said that you will meet the ghosts when you go out during the night, and if you don't believe it, someone will tell you that they have seen ghosts with their own eyes. To some, the lunar seventh month is more scary than romantic.

(Source: 51766.com / Translated by Women of China)