What kind of festival is this on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month? Is there anything particular about it?

The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is of course the Ghost Festival, also called the Ghost Festival in our rural areas. Although it is called Ghost Festival, it seems to have nothing to do with feudal superstition. Just like the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th, it is also a traditional festival. The difference is that the Mid-Autumn Festival is a day for everyone to celebrate and reunite families, while July 15th gives people a cryptic feeling. July 15th seems to be an unknown day to me personally. On the Hungry Ghost Festival more than ten years ago, my grandma was hospitalized due to illness. Because it happened to be July 15th, I always had a bad feeling in my heart. After my grandma was hospitalized, she never got better...

Rural people attach great importance to July 15th, so there is a lot of emphasis on this day in rural areas. It is especially important for men. Even if they work in the city, they have to rush back to their hometown to worship after get off work in the evening. Because you are a descendant of your ancestors, and as a descendant, there are many things you must do on the night of July 15th. There is a rule here that at noon on July 15th, every family must make buns to eat. When the buns are taken out of the pot, adults and children are not allowed to eat them first. They must be offered to the deceased ancestors first. The number of can not be wrong, it must be three. Only after the offerings have been made can the family eat, otherwise it will be considered disrespectful to the ancestors and a great act of unfilial piety.

Legend has it that on the Lantern Festival, the gates of hell are opened, and deceased ancestors can return to the world to visit their descendants on this day. So our custom here is to make dumplings at night, and the number of dumplings offered is three. Most families with descendants ask their descendants to burn incense first, then bring dumplings to the table, and then burn some gold, silver, ingots, and paper money that have been folded in advance. When everything that needs to be burned is burned, the descendants of the ancestors will be able to harvest the crops. Of course you have to kneel down and kowtow.

Return to the underworld before the gate of hell is closed, so as not to be shut out and become a lonely ghost.

What the questioner wants to ask is probably what is the festival on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, which is coming in a few days, and what are its specialties? In fact, every year on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar is an important traditional Chinese festival - the Ghost Festival. The name of this festival is the Chinese Taoist name. Among us people, we will call it the "Ghost Festival". It is a kind of sacrifice and A way to remember our ancestors has been passed down from ancient times to this day.

In fact, the origin of the Ghost Festival originated from a folk story. It is said that there was a man named Mulian who often dreamed at night that his deceased mother had become a hungry ghost in another world, so he planned to deliver food to his mother, but failed every time.

Later, Mulian told the Buddha about this, and the Buddha advised him to make offerings to the monks and do more good deeds in order to free himself from his mother's sins. Later, Mulian made an Obon basin on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month (Sanskrit means "rescuing the upside down"). Therefore, the Buddhist monks collectively chanted sutras for Mulian's mother to achieve transcendence, freeing her mother from the sea of ??suffering. Later, at this time of the year among the people, people would use this day to pay homage to their deceased relatives and to remind people to do more good deeds.

This day is called the Ghost Festival. According to folklore, it actually starts on July 14th and ends in the second half of the night on July 15th. Ancient superstitions believe that these two days are the days when ghosts go to the underworld to play and relax. Until midnight on the 15th, all ghosts must return to the underworld before the gate of hell closes, otherwise they will become lonely ghosts if they are left in the underworld. . During these two days, people should behave in a low-key manner. They should not shout at night or cry in the middle of the night, otherwise they will attract hundreds of ghosts.

The Ghost Festival, also called the Ghost Festival, is a very important festival in rural areas.

In the past, life in rural areas was relatively difficult. During the holidays, we had the opportunity to improve our food. During the Hungry Ghost Festival, we ate well. Many elderly people now ask, "What did you eat during the Hungry Ghost Festival?" This reflects the status of this festival.

The biggest saying about the Hungry Ghost Festival focuses on the word "ghost".

Legend has it that this day is the day when the gates of hell are opened, and it is the most gloomy day in the whole year. All the ghosts in the underworld are released and allowed to play in the human world for a period of time until the end of July. We commonly call it the Ghost Festival, Taoism calls it the Ghost Festival, and Buddhism calls it the Bon Festival.

The old man will tell the children what to pay attention to on this day:

1. Don’t go out at night, as it is easy to encounter ghosts.

2. Don’t walk by the river, lest you slip and fall into the water and become a substitute for a water ghost.

3. Don’t talk nonsense, especially words that are disrespectful to gods and ancestors.

4. Don’t wear brightly colored clothes, as they are easily possessed by dirty things.

5. Don’t look in the mirror or window glass at night. To be honest, this has always scared me. If I am alone at night and see a mirror or glass, I am afraid that my head will be reflected in it.

I asked what festival the 15th day of the seventh lunar month is and what its significance is.

This festival is called the Zhongyuan Festival or the Zhongyuan Festival in our local folklore. There are many specialties for the fans of the gods. I would like to share this. The first is to burn bags for the deceased, and to drill the money specially made into Yin coins. The minted Yin coins are wrapped in white paper with a special writing format, and the name of the deceased is written on them. The number of Yin coins specially used for the Zhongyuan event, the number of Yin packages, the time of refining, and who will be honored by future generations are written. , and put a special seal on the back of the baggage. Secondly, on the day of refining, it should be placed at home in front of the ancestors in the family, and an incense table should be set up to worship. The third is to refine the baggage outside the home. If you refine it at home, Yinmail will not send the baggage away. The fourth is to refine all the baggage you have made during refining. If the baggage is not completely refined, , the ancestors asked in their dreams that those who had not yet received the reminder to refine the baggage, etc. There are legends about gods and fans. Every year, there are various rumors about gods and fans. These rumors about gods and fans will This originally deified Ghost Festival has become even more mysterious. It is believed that the Ghost Festival on July 15th is a grand festival for the deceased. There are several rumors. One is that in early July, many people always meet the dead in their dreams. Meeting ancestors means reminding that the Ghost Festival on July 15th is coming, and you should prepare bags in advance. The second is that when refining the baggage, there is indeed a baggage that has been missed. That night, the ancestors who have passed away will ask in their dreams whether they have completed the dream plot. Third, in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, children under the age of 12 are not allowed to go out to play at night. They must go home before dark. If they play outside very late at night, they are more likely to get sick and may see some strange things that are human but not human. Movies, etc., there are such mythical rumors, our country pays more and more attention to this Zhongyuan Festival. Every year after the first day of the seventh lunar month in the lunar calendar, every household writes a bag of refining, in order to commemorate the deceased relatives and let them They spend their money happily on the Ghost Festival on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. Only by spending that day happily can they bless future generations with peace and prosperity.

The farmer is from Changning, Hengyang. In his hometown, July 15th is a traditional festival of equal importance to the Spring Festival and Qingming Festival. For example, some young people who work outside all year round, even if they do not come back during the Spring Festival, will definitely come back during the Qingming Festival and the Ghost Festival on July 15th. If some families have many brothers, they usually come back separately. For example, if the eldest brother comes back during Qingming Festival, then the younger brother will come back during Hungry Ghost Festival.

In the farmer's hometown, the Hungry Ghost Festival on July 15th is also called "July 15th", but most people burn some of the sacrificial items on July 14th. Farmers have heard from adults that this festival is a day to take the deceased "old people" home, so that they can come back to see their descendants and have some delicious meals at home. Although superstitious, it is also an important part of traditional culture.

In the village where the farmer lives, the clan concept is still very strong. Everyone in the village has the same surname. Starting from the tenth day of July, each family will take turns placing their own delicacies in the clan's ancestral hall, and then let their ancestors have a taste. When making these dishes, there are also certain things to pay attention to, usually how many bowls are there, and when cooking, you cannot taste it yourself first, even if you taste the saltiness of the dishes after cooking.

Unlike many places, in the farmer’s hometown, rice dumplings are still made in July and a half. This custom probably no longer exists in many places. Usually, the rice dumplings are made in the morning of July 14th and cooked in the afternoon. In the evening, they go to the crossroads in the village and burn paper money. In the past, clothes made of paper were basically burned. Nowadays, sacrificial supplies are very abundant, including clothes, shoes, cars, mobile phones, mansions and villas, etc. After the fire is burned out, the traditional festival of July half has passed.

Some people think this festival is unnecessary, but farmers think it is still very meaningful. Its meaning is similar to that of Tomb-Sweeping Day, which is for us to remember and remember our ancestors and remember the contributions they have made to our family. Although it means a bit of a loss of money, some people have to rush back from other places, which delays work and is very hard, but the farmers think it is still worth it. What do you think?

In Kaifeng, July 15th is not just a ghost festival

I heard from the old people that July 15th is a ghost festival. On this day, ghosts will be released, so people Get up early in the morning and burn paper money and ingots on the graves. In addition, you have to set off cannons and make offerings. Burning paper money and ingots is to give money to the ghosts. Setting off cannons is to let them know that you have come to give them money, and to tell them, in case they don't. If you know that the money may have been robbed by other ghosts, the offer is to give them some food to prevent them from starving to death.

Especially for those who have just passed away, their families will go to the grave every year to offer sacrifices. After ten years or more, the number of sacrifices will become less frequent or even non-existent. The old people say that it takes a long time. , the soul will slowly disappear. This is what people often call the soul flying away.

On the first day of October is the Ghost Collection Festival. In the afternoon, sacrifices will be held again. After eating and drinking, they will return to the underworld with money and spend the second half of the year in peace. Disturbing their family.

In addition, July 15th is also a busy time for farmers, breaking corn, pulling peanuts, harvesting sesame seeds, including fruits and vegetables. It is also time to pull out seedlings and clear the land to prepare for planting. Next season’s crops.

At this time, autumn has passed, and the weather has begun to turn cooler. It is hot during the day and cool in the morning and evening. Farmers go out early and return late. This kind of weather should also cause people to have a gloomy feeling.

The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the Ghost Festival, commonly known as the Ghost Festival. In ancient times, the Hungry Ghost Festival was a festival to reunite with deceased ancestors and has been followed to this day. It is already autumn on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, and people begin to enjoy the joy of the harvest. However, while harvesting, they must not forget their ancestors, so the ancients began the ceremony of offering sacrifices to their ancestors in this month. Later, they were unified on July 15th, because the full moon also represents some reunion.

The Hungry Ghost Festival is celebrated not only across the country, but also in all places that have been influenced by Chinese culture. This festival is celebrated in Japan, North Korea and some Southeast Asian countries.

The specific procedures vary from place to place. River lanterns are placed in some places, but where there is no river, is it difficult to hold sacrifices? So every place has its own set of customs and particularities. For example, we used to choose the waterside to pick up and drop off our ancestors. When eating, the first person to eat first, etc. But now that many places in urban development no longer have obvious ditches or their residences are far away from the water, and in many places it is not allowed to set off fireworks and firecrackers, burn paper money, etc. Therefore, the specific process gradually began to adapt to modern society.

After all, modern society has completely changed compared to ancient times, but no matter what the process is, the purpose is the same, which is to express mourning for the ancestors, so the core meaning of the Ghost Festival will be It has been inherited forever, but it is inevitable that the way of worship will change with the changing times.

The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the Ghost Festival in rural areas. Generally speaking, July fourteenth in rural areas is the day to take the ancestors home, which is the Ghost Festival. This day is to pay homage to the deceased. Our predecessors, like grandparents and other relatives, buy incense, paper, and various things to commemorate our ancestors on this day. On this day, we also prepare delicious food in our countryside, such as slaughtered chickens, boiled pig heads, and hams. Meat is something that I usually hate to eat. On the night of July 15th, it is time to send the ancestors out. The custom here is to burn paper, light torches, and offer food and wine to send them out. This festival is over.

In the middle of the night last night, I suddenly woke up from my sleep by the sound of footsteps going up the stairs. I felt like there were many "people" there. I was so frightened that I couldn't scream even if I wanted to turn over. No, I don’t dare to open my eyes, I’m afraid of seeing things I shouldn’t see, but my consciousness is very clear. This should be the legendary “ghost on the bed”. It was the same one night in 2006, and it was like yesterday. We met again at night, it was really strange!

Don’t do anything bad in your life, and don’t be afraid of ghosts knocking on the door in the middle of the night. Ghosts are dead people, and people are ghosts who are not dead.

But most young people nowadays don’t believe in anything. They are not afraid of heaven and earth. They just go their own way. So do I. But after these two times, I think we should still respect heaven and earth, respect ghosts and gods, and have awe in everything!