The meaning of the Zhongyuan Festival is the ancestor worship festival in the seventh month, also known as Shigu, Ghost Festival, Zhaigu and Diguan Festival.

Hungry Ghost Festival is a Taoist name, folklore calls it July Half, and Buddhism calls it the Bon Festival. The Zhongyuan Festival, the Qingming Festival and the Hanyi Festival are also known as the three major ghost festivals. The Zhongyuan Festival evolved from the "half of July" in ancient times, when farmers harvested crops and tasted autumn to worship ancestors. The Japanese take Obon very seriously, and it has now become an important holiday second only to New Year's Day. Businesses and companies generally take about a week off.

July is an auspicious month and a month of filial piety. The first half of July is a folk festival in early autumn to celebrate the harvest and reward the earth. When certain crops are ripe, folk will worship ancestors as a rule and use new rice as sacrifices. Report Qiu Cheng to ancestors. It is a traditional cultural festival to remember ancestors, and its cultural core is to respect ancestors and fulfill filial piety. During the Ghost Festival, the most prominent folk customary behavior is paper burning.

The historical development of the Hungry Ghost Festival

According to historical documents, the activity of worshiping ancestors in autumn has existed in the pre-Qin period. The custom of worshiping ancestors in the middle of July is a product of local culture, and the inclusive festivals and customs are relatively complex. It is not only the folk festival of autumn taste, but also the Taoist Ghost Festival and the Buddhist Bon Festival. In the seventh month of Mengqiu in the lunar calendar, crops mature.

Some places in China have had the tradition of holding ancestor worship ceremonies at this time since ancient times. The ancients worshiped their ancestors in all seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. In July, they offered newly harvested fruits, vegetables, millet and other grains, which was called "Autumn Taste", also known as "Recommend the New" and "Taste the New", that is, let the ancestors worship in the autumn. The meaning of tasting something new is stated in Puning County Chronicles written by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty: "It is commonly said that the soul of the ancestors returns after their soul returns, and they have some sacred clothes, wine and delicacies to recommend them. Even though they are poor, they dare not lack them.

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