The Legend of the Ghost Festival

The Ghost Festival, also known as the Ghost Festival or the Bon Festival, is the largest festival in the underworld on July 15 of the lunar calendar. It is one of the three important festivals in the underworld in my country. . There is a folk legend that the Yuanxiao Festival is celebrated in the world of heaven and the Ghost Festival is celebrated in the underworld. It is said that the King of Hell will also dress up in costumes and celebrate the festival with the ghosts on that day, and let us living people bless them together, wishing that people in the other world will realize their wishes and enjoy the happiness that they have not had time to enjoy in this world.

Therefore, many local communities in our country will hold activities such as offering sacrifices, visiting Buddha, cleaning tombs, reviewing flowers, appreciating flowers, fishing and other activities to celebrate. The Ghost Festival originated from the story of Mu Lian saving his mother: "There is a monk named Mu Lian, who has great magical power. His mother fell into the realm of hungry ghosts, and food turned into flames when she entered her mouth. The hunger and suffering were too great. Mu Lian could not save his mother, so he asked for advice. The Buddha, in order to preach the Ullambana Sutra, taught him to make the Ullambana on the 15th day of the seventh month to save his mother."

It is said that at that time, Mulian saw him after going through many hardships in the underworld. The deceased mother, Mrs. Liu, found that she was being tortured by a group of hungry ghosts. Mu Lian tried to feed her with vegetables and rice in a bowl, but the food and rice were taken away by the hungry ghosts. Mu Lian had no choice but to ask Buddha for help. Buddha was moved by Mu Lian's filial piety and granted him the Ullambana Sutra. According to the instructions, Mu Lian used a Bon Lan basin filled with precious fruits and vegetables to worship her mother on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. The starving mother finally got food. In order to commemorate Mulian's filial piety, Buddhists hold a grand "Ollambana Festival" every year, which we now call "Ghost Festival".

The story of how the Ghost Festival came about

The Ghost Festival originated from the early "July and a half" harvest harvest and autumn feast to worship ancestors. The origin of "July and a half" can be traced back to Ancient ancestor worship and harvest festivals. In ancient times, people often relied on the blessings of gods for a good harvest. For example, Dong Zhongshu of the Han Dynasty said in "Spring and Autumn Fanlu·Four Sacrifice": "In ancient times, there were four sacrifices every year. The four sacrifices were based on who was born in the four seasons, and they sacrificed their ancestors and grandparents. Therefore, spring is called a temple, and summer is called a temple. "Autumn is called Tasting, and winter is called Steaming." Worshiping ancestors occurs in spring, summer, autumn and winter, but "Autumn Tasting" is very important.

Autumn is the harvest season. People hold rituals to offer sacrifices to the spirits of their ancestors. They offer seasonal delicacies to the gods first, then taste the fruits of their labor themselves, and pray for a good harvest in the coming year. Judging from historical records, the activity of worshiping ancestors in autumn has existed in the pre-Qin period. At first, the date of "Autumn Festival" was not certain, but later it was gradually fixed in mid-July, which is usually the first full moon after the beginning of autumn. Looking at the sun, it’s time for the new autumn air.

Introduction to Ghost Festival

Ghost Festival, as the name suggests, is a festival related to ghosts and a festival for worshiping ghosts.

Ghosts are an extension of life during the period of human ignorance. Eastern and Western cultures have slightly different concepts of life extension, but death as a ghost has always been the mainstream of ghost culture. Ghost festivals can be divided into Chinese and Western ones. There are many ghost festivals in China, including the half of July, Qingming Festival, March 3rd, and October 1st. There are Western ghost festivals such as the Mexican Ghost Festival, but the most famous one is Halloween.

What are the taboos to wear during the Ghost Festival?

1. You cannot wear red clothes

According to reports, it has been said that people who die wearing "red clothes" will transform into ghosts. Ghosts are particularly ferocious, so it is rumored that people who wear this color during the Ghost Festival are easily misunderstood by other powerful ghosts that you are also a ghost, or you may be hunted by ghosts. The biggest thing is that you might scare people on the street in the middle of the night!

2. You cannot wear white clothes

However, "white" represents a symbol of mourning in our minds. For example, during a funeral, the mourners are all dressed in white. Pants and white shoes, so "white" also has an ominous meaning. In addition to white, hemp color, also known as "off-white", is also not suitable for use.

3. Don’t wear dark green clothes

For some people with yin and yang eyes, it will appear in the ghosts of ghosts or people who are less lucky. "Dark green" light, so during the July festival, if you wear dark green, you may be misunderstood as being possessed by a green ghost, causing other Yin spirits to attach to you, and the victim may be even more unlucky, so you should also Try to avoid it.