It is generally believed that July 15 is the first day of the Ghost Festival, and is also the day when the ghost gate opens wide, this time is the heaviest yin qi, so it is best not to go out on the street that night, so as to avoid bumping into ghosts, and in addition, it is best not to go to the riverside or the seashore and so on, so as to avoid accidentally losing their footing, and then become the body of the ghost of the water. In addition, it is best not to say anything unlucky or offensive to the spirit world, so as not to attract the ghosts.

Legend of the Ghost Festival

On the origin of the Ghost Festival, there is the following allusion, according to legend, when Buddha Shakyamuni was alive, he accepted ten disciples, one of them was named Meilian practitioner, his parents died before he attained Taoism, because Meilian was very much attached to his dead mother, so he used his heavenly eyes to see how his mother was living in the hell, and it turned out that they had turned into starving ghosts, and there was nothing for them to eat or drink, and their situation was pitiful. It turned out that they had become hungry ghosts, with nothing to eat or drink, and were in a pitiful situation. After seeing this, Meguren felt very distressed, so he used his magic power to bring some food to his mother, but unfortunately, as soon as the food was brought to his mouth, it was immediately turned into flames. Meguren was very distressed when he saw this situation, so he told Sakyamuni about it, and the Buddha taught him that his mother had committed many sins when she was alive and so after her death she fell into the path of the hungry ghosts and would never be able to return to the world, and that this sinfulness was not something that could be resolved by himself. He had to gather the power of all the people, so Meilian united with all the monks and held a large-scale worship ceremony in order to transcend the dead souls of all the people. Later, this legend has been passed on to future generations, and gradually formed a folk custom, every year in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, people will slaughter chickens and ducks, burn incense and clothes, worship by the hungry ghosts out of hell, in order to dissolve their grievances, so as to avoid harming the human world, and over time, the formation of the Ghost Festival of the customs