The Zhongyuan Festival, also known as the "July Festival" or the Bon Festival, is one of the three major ghost festivals. The Zhongyuan Festival is a Taoist term, and the name "Zhongyuan" originated from the Northern Wei Dynasty. In some places, it is commonly known as "Ghost Festival" and "Shigu", also known as the Day of the Dead and the Half of July. Let's take a look at the origins and customs of the Ghost Festival compiled by the editor. You are welcome to read it for reference only.

The origin of the Ghost Festival

According to legend, every year on July 1st, the King of Hell orders the gates of hell to be opened, allowing those unjust souls and ghosts who have been suffering and imprisoned in hell all year long to come out of hell. You can get a short-term wandering and enjoy the blood food of the world, so people call July the ghost month. This month is regarded as an unlucky month, and people neither marry nor move.

Every year on the tenth day of the seventh lunar month The fourth or fifteenth day is the Bon Festival, also known as the Ghost Festival, July Half or Ghost Festival. In the past, in addition to worshiping their ancestors, people also prepared some dishes, wine, rice, gold and silver clothes and paper on this night. They go to the intersection to worship ghosts and gods.

July 14th/15th of the lunar calendar is the biggest festival in the underworld - Ghost Festival, also known as the Ghost Festival or the Bon Festival. It is one of the three major festivals in my country. It is one of the important festivals in the underworld. There is a folk legend that the Lantern Festival is celebrated in the underworld and the Ghost Festival is celebrated in the underworld. It is said that the King of Hell will also dress up in costumes to celebrate the festival with the ghosts, and let us living people bless them together. People in the other world have their dreams come true and enjoy the happiness that they have not had time to enjoy in this world. Therefore, many places in our country will hold activities such as offering sacrifices, visiting Buddhas, cleaning tombs, reviewing flowers, and fishing to celebrate.

The Ghost Festival originated from the story of Mulian Lian saving his mother: “Those who have Mulian Monk have great magical power. His mother fell into the realm of hungry ghosts, and food turned into flames when she entered her mouth. She suffered from extreme hunger and suffering. Mulian was unable to save his mother's misfortune, so he asked the Buddha for advice and taught him how to make the Ullambana Sutra on the 15th day of the seventh month to save his mother. "It is said that after going through a lot of hardships in the underworld, Mulian met his dead mother Liu and found that she was being tortured by a group of hungry ghosts. Mulian wanted to use a bowl with vegetables and rice for her to eat, but the vegetables and rice were eaten by the hungry ghosts. The ghost took it away. Mulian had to ask Buddha for help. Buddha was moved by Mulian's filial piety and granted him the Ullambana Sutra. According to the instructions, Mulian used the Ullambana to hold precious fruits and vegetables to worship his mother. The hungry mother finally got food. In order to commemorate Mulian's filial piety, Buddhists hold a grand "Ollambana Festival" every year, which is what we now call the "Ghost Festival".

The book says. On this day in ancient times, people would set up a mage's seat and a Shigu platform in front of Jiekou Village. In front of the mage's seat was the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva who had saved the ghosts from "hell", and below was a plate of peaches and rice. There are three spiritual tablets and soul-calling flags standing on the Shigu platform. After noon, each household puts whole pigs, whole sheep, chickens, ducks, geese and various cakes, fruits, melons, etc. on the Shigu platform. The person in charge placed a handful of triangular paper flags in blue, red, green and other colors on each of the sacrifices, and wrote the words "Yu Lan Festival", "Ganlu Gate Opening" and other words. The ceremony was followed by a burst of solemn temple music. Then, the master rang the bell, led the monks to recite various incantations and mantras, and then spread the plate of peaches and rice in all directions, repeating this ritual three times. ". Wang Kaitai, a literati in the Qing Dynasty, once wrote a poem: "The Taoist temple purifies the ghosts, and the original meaning of Yu Lan remains. But it's strange that the red paper is posted on the door, and the meat mountain and the sea of ??wine celebrate the Chinese New Year. "Describes the custom of celebrating the Ghost Festival along the southeastern coast of my country.

It can be seen that the "Ghost Festival" originated from the traditional virtue of filial piety. People in northern my country still use this day on this day. Burning paper money to commemorate the ancestors who have passed away long ago expresses the longing for relatives. Although the method of worship is simple, it basically preserves the simple meaning of the Ghost Festival because it is the call of blood, the extension of feelings, and a reminder of one's future. , all endow the Ghost Festival with rich humanistic connotations. Even if the era is different and the gifts burned are different, the living people will never be able to convey the endless sorrow and deep remembrance of their departed relatives. But "different ages." People in this section have different feelings about this special festival, because the future festival is coming to them mercilessly, from hazy to clear, from longing to fear, from fear to calmness. When I miss the people in the past, in fact, I am also thinking about the experience, content, method and pursuit of my life today. ”

July 14/15 is the day when the door to hell opens. Whether you burn paper money to send blessings, hold daisies to express condolences, pay homage to your ancestors on the Internet, or put out river lanterns, you are alive today. It is the spontaneity of people's spirituality, the extension of their emotions, and the most basic belief that people miss the past together and send blessings to their ancestors. At the same time, "the living should cherish every day they are alive." , Don’t be ashamed of society and friends, don’t be ashamed of relatives who have left forever.

Because one day we will meet them, and when the time comes, you can proudly say that you are a hero in the world, and you will also be a hero in the underworld!"