Commonly known as Ghost Festival and Bonihara Festival. It's on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month.
On the origin of Mid-Autumn Festival
The first statement:
Every July 14 is the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Ghost Festival or Magnolia Festival, which is a big festival to worship ghosts.
The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from Taoism, and later Buddhism changed to what is now commonly known as Ghost Festival. In India, Magnolia Festival means "hanging upside down". "Hanging upside down" means that after the death of the mother of the ten sons of Sakyamuni, she was hungry and could not eat. Later, I got help from Sakyamuni. Support the ten gods and buddhas with a hundred flavors and five fruits, and save the mother with merits. So now, in order to worship the ghosts, Purdue Festival is held in July of the lunar calendar, which is now called Ghost Festival.
Generally speaking, in ancient times, people were reluctant to do important things such as getting married this month.
The second statement:
As for the origin of the Ghost Festival, it is said that the Bodhisattva Diksitigarbha, also known as [the Lord of Hell], came to the underworld after her mother died, was imprisoned in her cell, and suffered from various eighteen levels of hell. Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha is a dutiful son and can't bear to see his mother suffer. On July 15, he had an affair and asked the boy guarding the cell to secretly open the cell door and let his mother out. Who knows it's not important? Those ghosts who run back to their hometown ask for money from home, let them go back to life and get through their joints, hoping to support their lives as soon as possible. Later, people designated this day as Ghost Festival.
On Halloween, people will burn paper money and offer sacrifices to show their respect for their deceased relatives.
On the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, both Buddhism and Taoism summarized their criticisms, and both of them conducted corresponding textual research activities. The difference is that the Taoist investigation report points to people, that is, the date of birth of the school. Buddhist concluding comments are all made internally. Both the birth date of the external school and the internal criticism meeting show that Buddhism and Taoism attach importance to July 15th. Or explain the importance of this day in Buddhist and Taoist festivals. Coupled with the so-called ghost festival, this time is even more colorful. School birthdays and self-indulgence days are only a small part of this season's customs and activities. In addition, there are important custom saving activities in the year, such as offering sacrifices to ancestors and recommending new people, lighting lamps for ghosts and bonsai festivals.
Kasahara Festival is an important ceremony in the Buddhist New Year ceremony. For example, it is held on July 15 every year, so the Mid-Yuan Festival is also called the Arahara Festival.
Despite thousands of years of active obedience and passive domestication, the traces of Buddhism remain clearly in the activities of the people in the Mid-Autumn Festival. The first is the name. Euglena is a transliteration of Sanskrit, which means "upside down". The combination of euglena and the basin is the savior, that is, "saving the upside down"; In addition, the blue flowerpot can also be interpreted as a "hanging basin", highlighting its characteristics of "putting a hundred meals".
Pang Long, a poet in the Qing Dynasty, wrote a poem called "Chang 'an Miscellaneous Bamboo Branches", which described the scene of children playing with lotus leaf lanterns on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival.
Chang 'an hybrid bamboo branch
Thousands of trees are cool and frosty, and the moon is bright in the middle of the month.
Children fight for green lotus leaves, and thousands of silver flowers scatter the fire city.
According to the etiquette of Buddhist bonsai, the river lantern is just one of the small programs, which doesn't seem so important. In the folk activities of Mid-Autumn Festival, it is more important to put on lights.
River lanterns are also called "lotus lanterns". Generally, lights or candles are placed on the base, and they are placed in rivers, lakes and seas during the Mid-Autumn Festival, allowing them to float. The function of river lanterns is to drown ghosts and other ghosts in Purdue water. A passage in the biography of Hulan River by Hong Xiao, a modern woman writer, is the best footnote of this custom: "July 15th is Ghost Festival; You damn fool can't keep alive, and it's hard to wander in hell. They want to support themselves, but they can't find the direction. On this day, if a fool holds a river lantern, he must support his life. " Probably this road from the underworld to death is so dark that you can't see the road without a lamp. So turning on the light is a good thing. It can be seen that the living gentlemen have not forgotten the dead ghosts.
Ghosts'Festival
Commonly known as ghost festival. Folk traditional festivals. It's on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, and it's also on the fourteenth of July. On this day, every family should pay homage to their ancestors, and some even hold family dinners to pay tribute to their ancestors like a memorial ceremony. Three rounds of wine shows that after the ancestor feast, the family will sit together and eat a holiday meal. After the power failure, take firecrackers, paper money and incense sticks, find a quiet riverside or pond, and sprinkle a circle of lime to mark the restricted area. Then pour some water and rice in the circle, burn some paper money, set off firecrackers, send our ancestors on their way and turn to the "underworld" In the past, on the seventh day of July, people would take the ghosts of their ancestors home through some ceremony, and provide tea and rice three times a day in the morning, noon and dusk until July 15th. Now, superstition has gradually disappeared, and the form of memorial service has been preserved as a memory and commemoration of our ancestors.
Ghosts'Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival is scheduled for July 15th of the lunar calendar, commonly known as July 30th. Legend has it that all the ghosts were released to the underworld on that day, and people usually carry out activities to sacrifice ghosts. Where there is a new funeral, people will go to new graves, but generally speaking, ghosts and ghosts will sacrifice locally. Therefore, as a whole, it is a festival centered on the worship of ghosts and gods, and it is the largest folk ghost festival in China.
It was a small autumn before July, and a batch of crops were ripe. As a rule, people should worship their ancestors, offer sacrifices, such as new rice, and report Qiu Cheng to their ancestors. Song Meng's "Dream of China in Tokyo" said in Volume 1: "The day before Yuan Zhong, when I was enjoying the sacrifice, I bought Kung Fu leaves (leaves of a fragrant plant) to line the table, and I also bought a nest of hemp seeds and tied them at the foot of the table. This was my ancestor Qiu Cheng's mind." China people pay attention to filial piety when the crops are ripe in July and autumn, and they will report to their ancestors and invite them to taste new things, so they make a ritual sacrifice to their ancestors in July. Taoism in the Eastern Han Dynasty set up three sessions and five cloudy days, among which July 7th was Delu, which was also the day when regular Taoist priests came to the hospital for examinations. The main content of May Day is to offer sacrifices to ancestors. The date of ancestor worship in July was later fixed on this day, and Taoism set the birthday of local officials in the Central Plains and the corresponding date of sacrifice on July 15.
Taoist Mid-Autumn Festival is not only a religious festival in Taoism, but also a folk festival. At the beginning of Taoism, there were three officials worshipping. The orthodox school believed in the three officials of heaven, earth and water, and was later called the Three Officials Emperor. They each have their own responsibilities. Celestial officials bless Shangyuan, local officials forgive the sins of the Central Plains, and water officials call Xia Yuan Jieyi. The Taoist book says that in these three days, the three officials should correct the crimes committed on earth in order to decide rewards and punishments. Among them, the local officials are in charge of the underworld, and of course the focus of the inspection is on ghosts. So on this day, all ghosts will leave the underworld and be examined. On this day, Doumen held a routine ceremony to celebrate the birthday of local officials. At the same time, believers also funded fasting, prayed for the blessing of their ancestors, and asked local officials to forgive their sins and ascend to heaven as soon as possible. This is the main reason why Mid-Autumn Festival has become a folk festival.
July 15 is the Buddhist Boni Festival. "Eye bug basin" is a Sanskrit transliteration, originally intended to solve the problem of upside down. It is said that the Buddha's apprentice had a healthy eye and was sent to the depths of hell because of his mother's evil deeds before her death. He asked the Buddha what he could do to save him, and the Buddha told him that fasting on the monk's liberation day (July 15 in China) could save the ghost from the suffering of hell. According to Buddhist rituals, meditation began in mid-April, that is, entering the temple to meditate, and not allowed to go out during the day. It ends on July 15, which is called the day of abstinence, so they can come out to receive charity from believers. Buddhists in China created the Koran to publicize it, and later formed the custom of setting up a banquet to eat ghosts. In this way, the Mid-Autumn Festival is characterized by the integration of Taoism and Buddhism, and the activities of ancestor worship, ghost worship and ghost worship in the Mid-Autumn Festival have become the largest "ghost festival" among the people.
Folk activities in the mid-Yuan Dynasty revolved around offering sacrifices to ancestors and wild ghosts. There are city gods patrolling to offer sacrifices to Li (a sudden death), Taoist temples and Buddhist temples hold Purdue ceremonies to turn over the dead, and people go to new graves. As China people came to Southeast Asia and other regions, they also brought the custom of the Mid-Autumn Festival to those places. As we all know, the Central Plains activities in Penang, Malaysia have a broad mass base. Liu Zhongyu
Ghosts'Festival
The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is a folk custom to pay homage to one's ancestors on July 15th. Some people burn paper money in front of their doors or at the corner of the street. In the old society, on this day, someone in the city carried the wooden owner of the Town God Temple to spend three days in the summer, which was called a "trip to the Town God". People hold temple fairs in palaces and set up Lu operas. At that time, the palace was located in Dong Jiao, and this place was named "Home Yard".
Ghosts'Festival
Qiyue KTV
In the traditional customs of China people, the Mid-Autumn Festival is an important day for ancestor worship, and every household will celebrate it.
Every year in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, Chinese people in our country will hold a grand Central Plains celebration, and all over the country, whether in commercial areas or residential units, you can see red paper celebrating the Central Plains, decorated with lanterns and set up altars to reward the gods. Temples are also built separately, and local operas or singing platforms are staged in the streets and lanes, showing a lively and extraordinary scene.
Due to different organizational forms, the ceremony of "Pudu" in Mid-Autumn Festival can be divided into several categories, such as Pu Jie (also known as Hongpu), Shipu, Nursery (or Gongpu) and so on. The so-called street pu refers to the neighborhood-based Pudu; Market popularity is market popularity; Pusi is a temple presided over by Pudu.
Celebrating the Central Plains is very common.
In the local area, street Puduo takes townhouses or streets as Pudu units of the Mid-Yuan Festival; Markets, hawker centers, shopping centers and shops are the main parts of this city. As for the temple, there is no doubt.
It is very popular in China. In addition, local factories and industrial buildings generally have Purdue organizations.
In recent years, due to the improvement of people's living standards, it is also common to celebrate the Lantern Festival in China, and it is also very ostentatious. Some non-governmental organizations or companies have also established the China Yuan Festival. Judging from this trend, this traditional custom in China is flourishing year by year.
In Singapore, ordinary street people and street people will worship big candles and incense in rows, some of which are more than ten or twenty feet high and very spectacular.
In the sacrificial shed, please post a statue of Pudu Gong, who is six or two feet long, with blue teeth and fangs, which is extremely scary. Put it in a cloth shed to worship, light three big incense and two big candles in front of him. The more ways to sacrifice, the better. There are roast pigs, chickens and ducks, white rice buns, fruits, canned food, sugar and oil.
As for the temple, there is an altar in the temple, and the big mirror of "Orchid Club" or "Migong Emperor" is hung in the middle. As for the sacred table, there are three lanterns, three statues and three incense burners. There are white rice, bronze mirror, Gu Jian, small scale, scissors, ruler, umbrella and lighted kerosene lamp in the bucket lamp, which the ancients thought could ward off evil spirits.
Sacrifices are offered on the long table in front of the altar, and supplies such as birds, animals, fish, crabs and aquatic animals are made of flour, which is extremely rich.
There are many kinds of bidding blessings.
Purdue meetings organized by these places are not only sacrifices, but also full of blessings. Some of them are donations from members and enthusiasts of China Yuan Association. There are many kinds of blessings, such as immortals, charcoal commonly known as "Wujin", rice barrels, silver ingots, big lottery tickets, cakes, wine, electrical appliances and children's toys.
After the worship, it is inevitable to bid for wonderful gifts, which is also one of the characteristics of Pudu in the local Central Plains.
When bidding, the furnace owner often goes out and calls out the bidder's price like ringing a bell. I always hear the voice of praying for blessings in banquet halls everywhere. Compared with others, bidders are very lively and rich. Because most people believe that bidding for something can bring some wealth, everyone is generous, especially business people.
Usually, the members in charge of the China Yuan Festival will use the considerable funds obtained from the bid opening as charitable funds or member welfare funds. At the same time, they can also prepare for the activities of the Lantern Festival in China next year, such as inviting singers or local operas.
Ghost Festival
There are so-called "three elements" in the Lunar New Year season in China, which refer to the upper element on 15, the middle element on July 15 and the lower element on 10/5.
In addition to the Mid-Autumn Festival and Orchid Festival, people also call July 15 Ghost Festival, and together with Tomb-Sweeping Day and October 1st, it is called Three Ghosts Festival. Folk Ghost Festival is closely related to the Mid-Yuan Festival and the Arahara Festival in Buddhism and has its own unique color. In this way, the combination of monks, Taoism and customs constitutes a rich custom festival on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month.
Wang Kaitai, a scholar in Qing Dynasty, wrote a poem "Thoughts on Mid-Autumn Festival", which described the custom of Fujian people to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Reflections on Mid-Autumn Festival
Dojo is full of ghosts, the original Langu.
But the strange thing is that there is a red note on the door, and the meat mountain and wine sea celebrate the Central Plains.
On the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, both Buddhism and Taoism summarized their criticisms, and both of them conducted corresponding textual research activities. The difference is that the Taoist investigation report points to people, that is, the date of birth of the school. Buddhist concluding comments are all made internally. Both the birth date of the external school and the internal criticism meeting show that Buddhism and Taoism attach importance to July 15th. Or explain the importance of this day in Buddhist and Taoist festivals. Coupled with the so-called ghost festival, this time is even more colorful. School birthdays and self-indulgence days are only a small part of this season's customs and activities. In addition, there are important custom saving activities in the year, such as offering sacrifices to ancestors and recommending new people, lighting lamps for ghosts and bonsai festivals. Kasahara Festival is an important ceremony in the Buddhist New Year ceremony. For example, it is held on July 15 every year, so the Mid-Yuan Festival is also called the Arahara Festival.
Despite thousands of years of active obedience and passive domestication, the traces of Buddhism remain clearly in the activities of the people in the Mid-Autumn Festival. The first is the name. Euglena is a transliteration of Sanskrit, which means "upside down". The combination of euglena and the basin is the savior, that is, "saving the upside down"; In addition, the eyeworm basin can also be interpreted as "saving the hanging basin". Highlight its "hundred meals" characteristics.
Pang Long, a poet in the Qing Dynasty, wrote a poem called "Chang 'an Miscellaneous Bamboo Branches", which described the scene of children playing with lotus leaf lanterns on the night of Mid-Autumn Festival.
Chang 'an hybrid bamboo branch
Thousands of trees are cool and frosty, and the moon is bright in the middle of the month.
Children fight for green lotus leaves, and thousands of silver flowers scatter the fire city.
According to the etiquette of Buddhist bonsai, the river lantern is just one of the small programs, which doesn't seem so important. In the folk activities of Mid-Autumn Festival, it is more important to put on lights.
River lanterns are also called "lotus lanterns". Generally, lights or candles are placed on the base, and they are placed in rivers, lakes and seas during the Mid-Autumn Festival, allowing them to float. The function of river lanterns is to drown ghosts and other ghosts in Purdue water. A passage in the biography of Hulan River by Hong Xiao, a modern woman writer, is the best footnote of this custom: "July 15th is Ghost Festival; You damn fool can't keep alive, and it's hard to wander in hell. They want to support themselves, but they can't find the direction. On this day, the dead fool holds the river lantern and has to support it for a lifetime. " Probably this road from the underworld to death is so dark that you can't see the road without a lamp. So turning on the light is a good thing. It can be seen that the living gentlemen have not forgotten the dead ghosts.
Ghost Festival
On July 15th, Taoism is called Zhongyuan Festival, Buddhism is called Yulan Festival, and folk custom is called Ghost Festival. For good luck, people in Shanxi, especially in the north of Shanxi, renamed it dough sculpture festival today. Cultural connotation is very rich.
The origin of Mid-Autumn Festival should be related to the popular land worship in ancient China. After the prevalence of Taoism, depending on tradition, three gods of heaven, earth and water were founded. It is said that Tianguan's birthday is on the fifteenth day of the first month, which is called Shangyuan Festival. Its main duty is to protect the world. The official's birthday is July 15, which is called the Mid-Yuan Festival. Its main duty is to atone for the world. Shui Guan's birthday is 10 15, which is called the Ten Thousand Yuan Festival. Its main duty is to help the world.
Contrary to Taoism, Buddhism decided July 15 as the Magnolia Basin Festival. Buddhism advocates compassion for good. During the rainy season in ancient India for three months, Buddhist rituals prohibited monks and nuns from going out, saying that going out would easily harm plants, insects and ants, and asked monks and nuns to meditate in the temple and receive support. This period is called the period of stability. After Buddhism was introduced into China, according to the seasonal changes in China, the residence period was defined as April 16 to July 15. Later, according to the records of Buddhist scriptures, the Buddhist legend story of "saving the mother even" came into being. Mu Jianlian, a disciple of Buddha Sakyamuni, saw his dead mother suffering in hell, which was terrible. All efforts to rescue him failed, so we had to ask Buddha for help. Sakyamuni explained that his mother's criminal career was quite large before her death, and it was impossible to save it by herself. He told Mu Gelian that only on July 15th, the day when all the monks settled down, could he prepare a hundred kinds of food to feed the ten monks, and only with the help of all the monks could he save his mother from suffering. Mu Jianlian did as he said, and it really worked. This Buddhist activity is called bonsai. Magnolia is a transliteration of Sanskrit in ancient India, which means hanging upside down and describing the pain of the dead. A basin is Chinese, which refers to a vessel for holding offerings. Bonsai refers to such Buddhist activities, which can relieve the pain of the early dead.
With the help of Confucian tradition of "filial piety", China Buddhism changed July 15 into "filial piety festival" to promote Buddhism. It was not only recognized by China traditional culture, but also widely welcomed by officials and people, so it had the greatest influence on the folk activities on July 15th.
On July 15, the Buddhist community in Wutai Mountain will hold an orchid meeting as usual to chant Buddhist scriptures and turn over for the deceased. Some religious people around will go to the temple to repent, shoot a gun to pray, atone for their ancestors, and hope that the dead will be freed.
In the folk, every family goes to the grave to worship their ancestors.
Jinnan area is used to making lamps out of paper and burning them in front of graves, which means that the deceased has a bright future. I like to use steamed stuffed buns as food to commemorate my ancestors. If the ancestors have been dead for three years, children should take off their mourning clothes and put on ordinary clothes on this day, commonly known as changing filial piety.
In the north of Shanxi Province, people go to sweep graves to worship their ancestors. They like to make a circle with steamed bread and flour with a red dot in the middle. Put the confession, burn the paper, pull out some millet and hemp from the ground when you go home, wrap them in green paper, stand at the window and present a statue to the dough maker. After the festival, the top moves, the roots face inward, and the ears of grain are exposed, which is called picking up hemp grains. The popular folk saying is to bless a bumper harvest. However, the ceremony of worshipping dough figurines seems to be a remnant of the early martyrdom custom of human beings.
On July 15, the most solemn thing to pay homage to the deceased was to put out river lanterns. People are used to making colored lanterns and lighting candles with wooden boards and colored paper. Some people even write the names of the dead on the lights. Companies and other units are used to making a colorful underwater paper boat called Dafa boat. Legend has it that all immortal creatures and transcendence can be taken to the ideal other side of the world. On the boat, one person should hold a mord to symbolize the reunion of two eyes. Some are made into avalokitesvara bodhisattvas. At night, put paper boats and paper lanterns in the river and let them drift with the flow. People judge whether the dead are saved according to the floating state of the lamp. If the lamp rotates in the water, it is considered to be held back by a ghost. If the lamp sinks in the water, it is considered that the dead have been saved and reborn. If the lamp floats far away or falls to the ground, it is considered that the deceased has reached the other side of the world and ranks among the immortals in heaven. In a word, everything is a good wish.
Setting off river lanterns, especially in the Yellow River, is very spectacular. Hequ County in the northwest of Shanxi Province is near the Yellow River. The river is wide and the water is mild. On the night of July 15, men, women and children in the city gathered in the square in front of the stage on the bank of the Yellow River to watch the river lanterns. Colored lights drift with the water, and children always pay attention to how far their lights can drift. The old woman kept mumbling and praying. Today's river lantern has become a joyful activity.
On July 15, people still offered sacrifices to the land and crops. Scatter sacrifices in the fields. After burning the paper, wrap it on the ears of crops with cut five-color paper. Legend has it that autumn can avoid hail and get a bumper harvest. At the same time, some places have to go to Houtu Temple to offer sacrifices. Hemp and valley are hung at the gate of Dingxiang county folk custom.
Before July 15th, folk women were popular in dough modeling activities, especially in northern Shaanxi. A steamed stuffed bun shop, neighbors came to help. First of all, according to the actual number of families (including married daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren, other sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, etc. ), give everyone a big bag first. The steamed stuffed bun for the younger generation should be kneaded into a flat shape, which is called a noodle sheep. I hope that the younger generation will not forget the kindness of their parents. For the older generation of flower buns, it is necessary to shape the image of adults, indicating that children and grandchildren are full and live a long life; Steamed buns for peers should be shaped like fish, called noodle fish, which means more than one year. It's not so strict now. There are all kinds of steamed buns, such as sheep, tigers, cows, fish, rabbits and people, depending on the owner's taste. After each animal's steamed bread is kneaded, there will be many steamed bread in the shape of melon, fruit, peach, plum, lotus, chrysanthemum and plum, which are decorated with flowers, birds, butterflies, dragonflies and squirrels. Smaller than before, as a gift for visiting relatives and friends. These dough sculptures look lifelike after being steamed and colored in five colors, and each piece is an excellent handicraft. Watching dough figurines on July 15 has become a program for peasant women to show off their dexterity.
Mid-Autumn Festival and Wine
The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the Mid-Autumn Festival. In ancient China, the fifteenth day of the first month was Shangyuan Festival, the fifteenth day of July was Zhongyuan Festival, and the fifteenth day of October was Xiayuan Festival. After the appearance of Taoism, the gods worshipped were celestial officials, local officials and water officials, and "three yuan" was matched with "three officials". It is said that the birthday of Shangguan in Shangyuan is the 15th day of the first month, that of the local officials in Central Plains is the 15th day of July, and that of Xia Yuanshui is the 15th day of October. Therefore, on July 15th, Daoism will set up an altar to offer sacrifices. Taoism and Buddhism, the activities of this day, are specific regulations and practices. Folk festivals are relatively free and offerings are not enough for ancestors and ghosts to enjoy. Therefore, a folk festival has been formed. Family Instructions of Yan Family in the Northern Qi Dynasty, Chronicle of Jingchu in the Southern Dynasty, Dream of Tokyo in the Song Dynasty, Dream of Liang, and Jingshi Jisheng in the Qing Dynasty all mentioned the Mid-Yuan Festival and the Yulanben Festival. It is said in a book that a few days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, there were wares, fresh fruits and vegetables, oil cakes, pies and milk cakes in the market, all of which were colorful, and the cries were endless. There is also the custom of putting lights on the water, which means inviting orphans in the water to enjoy sacrifices. Children are playing with paper lotus lanterns, which are seven or eight feet big and eye-catching. Outside the city, people go to grave-sweepers in an endless stream, which is better than Tomb-Sweeping Day.
Ghosts'Festival
I know about Mid-Autumn Festival. I read about it in literary works and thought it was a popular folk custom in the Yellow River valley. This custom may be found in other places, but it is not as authentic as the places where the Yellow River flows. In my feeling, the night of that day should always be foggy. In the dim light, the ancestral meals of each family are very attractive against the backdrop of candlelight and incense. In the fog, the children's river lights disappeared before sinking and sailed for heaven. Adults don't mention what they are doing. I think most of them tie river lanterns for their ancestors and children and then cook for them. This is a harmonious scene, and Halloween should be a happy festival.
After arriving in Singapore, I really understood the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival. Of course, I only know that the Mid-Autumn Festival in Singapore has nothing to do with the river lights.
Lantern Festival is commonly known as Ghost Festival in Singapore. According to the specification, it should be the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month. Because July15th of the lunar calendar is China's Yuan, the festival on this day is called Yuan Festival. Because the Buddhist Bonihara Festival is also held on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, it is called "Bonihara Festival" in some places. Buddhists attach great importance to July 15, and many activities will be held on that day. "Lighting Ghost" is a small ceremony, which spread to the people and became a mysterious and romantic river lantern. Although there are different opinions about the use of river lanterns, they always have some connection with ghosts. For example, Hong Xiao mentioned in the article "Biography of Hulan River" that' July 15th is Halloween, and dead ghosts can't keep alive, so they are very bitter in hell, and they can't find a way to feed themselves! On this day, if a fool takes off the river lamp, he will be born.'
Just as Buddhism's "putting lights to drive away ghosts" was absorbed by the people according to their simple wishes and improved into folk river lanterns, the Mid-Autumn Festival crossed the underworld and national boundaries and came to Singapore, which also brought about great changes. You can't find the shadow of the river lantern in the Mid-Autumn Festival in Singapore, and the time to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival has also expanded from July 15 of the lunar calendar to the whole July. Try not to break ground, buy a house and travel this month. This month's air tickets are also low all the year round, so some unbelievers take this opportunity to go abroad to play. Of course, people who believe in evil are still in the majority. July is a hot summer in Singapore lunar calendar, but no matter how hot it is, the people in the swimming pool are always sparse. People will add one or two more gold ornaments to ward off evil spirits this month, and they will also pay attention to their words and try to avoid saying unlucky things. The child is particularly miserable. It is said that their eyes are particularly sharp and they can see what they shouldn't. In order not to scare the children, many parents shut their children at home after 7: 001.
Singaporeans believe that the first day of the seventh lunar month is the day when ghosts open their doors. In the next month, ghosts can freely enter and leave the yin and yang world. After this day, a long time later, religious families will light two candles on the grass in front of their houses, insert 372 1 incense next to the candles, put prepared offerings such as Yin coins, Buddha spells and sugar tea in front of the candles, and then light candles to burn incense and worship three times. After the worship, they will take Yin with them. This burning barrel is made of gasoline barrel, with the top cover removed and several holes punched in the side. It is a new thing that has only appeared in recent years. The appearance of barrel burning is because the government thinks it is too sanitary to burn paper directly in front of candles inserted in the house, so every year from/kloc-0 to July, the government puts some barrel burning in front of the apartment for people to burn paper. Some people can't agree with the idea that the paper burned at home is mixed with other people's, so they have to go to the grocery store to buy small paper barrels for their own use. It seems that more and more people suddenly can't stand the smoky fire of burning paper, especially the first day, the fifteenth day and the twenty-ninth day. The air is filled with the smell of burning paper, and the ashes of burning paper are floating in the sky. Many people complained to the government about this, but the government had no choice but to advise everyone to burn less, saying that courtesy is light and affection is heavy. A company seized this business opportunity and developed a new type of incineration barrel for everyone to try out. It is said that the response is good. Maybe next year, we will use a new type of incineration barrel worth 1500 Singapore dollars. I heard that the new product is box-shaped, which should be called incineration box.
When families celebrate the Central Plains, some China companies also celebrate the Central Plains collectively. The company celebrates the ostentation and extravagance of the Central Plains, which is bigger than the ostentation and extravagance of small families. There are many tributes, including a whole bag of rice, all kinds of canned food, biscuits and fruits, and a golden pig to make the finishing touch. These tributes were placed on a wooden table, in front of which stood a few candles and incense as thick as a man's bowl. To the excitement of the employees, the boss not only asked the ghost brothers to bless the business, but also asked them for four lucky numbers to buy lottery tickets. These four numbers are available throughout the company and were learned when buying them. The most common ones are buying straight and buying all. It is said that the odds are good. Maybe the ghost brothers are really knowledgeable.
The most solemn Central Plains celebration is held by the community or hawker center, which includes not only offering tribute, lighting candles and burning incense, but also singing Taiwan and bidding for the Central Plains Festival. The main purpose of singing platform is to entertain ghost brother. It is said that the early stage used to sing big plays, but now it is changed to singing, and most of them are pop songs. Most of the singers on the Mid-Autumn Festival singing platform are not well-known, because the competition for appearance fees is fierce. In order to attract people's attention, female singers often wear revealing clothes, and some have shaved their heads, while male singers wear long hair shawls, tights and mesh clothes. Although the singer tried his best, there were fewer and fewer people in the audience, and the rest of the seats were not satisfied, not counting the seats reserved for the ghost brothers in the first few rows. It seems that people are increasingly unable to accept this somewhat rough platform culture. Of course, there are also a group of fans who are trying to sing the opposite. Most of these people are elderly people. They will read the newspaper every day, check the information of the station and follow the station. I don't know if there are ghosts running with the platform, and I don't know if they like it after switching from drama to pop songs, but I think there are fewer and fewer elements of entertaining ghosts and more and more elements of pleasing people.
In addition to the singing platform, another activity worth mentioning is the bidding for the Mid-Autumn Festival party. The auction was held at the end of the sacrificial ceremony and in the middle of the Central Plains banquet. The organizer will try to find some celebrities in the entertainment circle to bid. Most of their bids are voluntary, mainly to do good deeds and publicize themselves. The lucky characters used to summon objects are mostly auspicious mascots with good colors circulating among gilded people. The most common ones are Jinlong and Huangli, which are also unique. Such as the soaring golden horse carrying a golden pear, called' come at once'. The blessing itself is of little value, and the bidder's vote is a good color. Putting the word "Fu" at home is equivalent to taking home the winning lottery ticket. There are also more lucky numbers posted on the blessings, and those who win the blessings can buy lottery tickets to bet their luck. As for the money won by bidding, part of it is used as the expense of celebrating the second year in the Central Plains, and part of it is donated to welfare institutions such as Renai Hospital, which is a ghost.
In recent years, the reputation of the Central Plains is facing great problems. First of all, the younger generation influenced by western culture can't accept this simple but ethnic culture, and Ode to the Central Plains has no successor. Secondly, some people suddenly can't stand the smoke of burning paper and the noise of singing tables, call for bids and complain to the government frequently. It seems that the government also buys these people's accounts. While constantly improving the burning barrels, this year it is clearly stated that the celebration must end half an hour earlier than in previous years and before 10: 30. Due to the early end of the event, the fans of radio and television stations did not enjoy themselves, and the money obtained by bidding was greatly reduced. Apart from the money necessary to celebrate the Central Plains in the second year, there is little left to donate to welfare institutions. This makes people feel a bit like ghosts, but July is their festival, and the living have to give in.
I spent five Mid-Autumn Festival in Singapore. At first I was curious, even a little scared, and gradually I fell in love with this festival. I also learned to burn paper to worship like Singaporeans. I hope my dead father can come to Singapore for this festival. Ghosts are not terrible, but parting, especially between yin and yang.
Ghosts'Festival
Mid-Autumn Festival-China traditional folk festival "Mid-Autumn Festival" July 15. In the south, it is also called "Ghost Festival". However, the Mid-Autumn Festival that has existed ever since is in July 14. It is said that at the end of the Song Dynasty, when people were preparing for the festival, Yuan soldiers suddenly invaded and had to sacrifice their ancestors one day in advance, so the festival was advanced.
On this day, people take sacrifices to the graves to pay homage to their ancestors, similar to Tomb-Sweeping Day's grave-sweeping. In feudal times, the local government also ordered monks and Taoist priests in temples to set up a lonely soul Dojo to pay homage to the dead soldiers. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, people burn a lot of paper money.