Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Weather inquiry - Why is July and a half always Ghost Festival?

Why is July and a half always Ghost Festival?

Because the Mid-Autumn Festival is on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, commonly known as July and a half. Legend has it that all ghosts' souls were released in the underworld that day, and people generally carried out activities to sacrifice ghosts' souls.

Ghost Festival refers to festivals offering sacrifices to ghosts or festivals related to ghosts. Ghosts are an extension of life during the period of human ignorance. The concept of life extension in eastern and western cultures is slightly different, but people dying as ghosts has always been the mainstream of ghost culture. There are Mexican Ghost Festival in the Western Ghost Festival, but the most famous one is Halloween. In some places in China, four festivals, namely Shangsi Festival (March 3rd), Tomb-Sweeping Day Festival, Zhongyuan Festival and Hanyi Festival, are collectively called "Four Ghosts' Festivals".

the ghost festival in July and a half is a folk name. In fact, it is generally called the Mid-Autumn Festival in Taoism, and it is called the Yulanben Festival in Buddhism. In the classic culture of Confucianism, it is also called "offering sacrifices like being present". Therefore, July and a half is a festival composed of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and laymen. Together with the traditional Tomb-Sweeping Day, New Year's Eve and Double Ninth Festival, it is a traditional festival of sacrifice in China.