When is Ghost Festival? You must remember this in the future

The so-called Ghost Festival usually refers to the 15th day of the seventh lunar month every year, so the date on the Gregorian calendar is different every year. For example, the Ghost Festival in 2017 is on September 5th of the Gregorian calendar. On this day, people in many places will have some customs of worshiping their ancestors.

1. When is Ghost Festival? What date is it in 2017?

A: The Ghost Festival is on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month every year, so the Ghost Festival in 2017 is September 5, a Tuesday.

2. The Origin of the Ghost Festival

The origin of the Zhongyuan Festival should be related to the land ancestor worship that was popular in ancient China. According to legend, the birthday of the God of Earth is on July 15th, which is called the Ghost Festival, and the main duty of the God of Earth is to forgive sins for the world. Every year on the Ghost Festival, the God of Earth will open the gates of hell. It is also the day when hell opens, and deceased ancestors can return home for reunion, so it is also called the Ghost Festival. People will set up Taoist temples and put steamed buns for wandering ghosts to eat. On this day, people will worship their ancestors, visit graves, and light lotus lanterns to illuminate the way home for the deceased. Taoist temples also hold grand ceremonies to pray for the souls of the dead.

3. What are the customs of the Ghost Festival?

1. Zhongyuan Festival

From the first to the 30th day of July, some places have the custom of performing general salvation ceremonies during the Ghost Festival. This is to hold sacrificial activities with offerings such as wine, meat, sugar cakes, and fruits to comfort the ghosts wandering in the human world and to pray for their own peace and success throughout the year. For more grand ceremonies, monks and Taoists are even invited to chant scriptures and perform rituals to liberate the souls of the deceased.

2. Ancestor worship

On the day of the Ghost Festival, many people begin to worship their ancestors, so it is also called the "Mid-July" ancestor worship. At this time, midsummer has passed and the cool autumn has just begun. People believe that their ancestors will return home to visit their descendants at this time, so they need to worship their ancestors. The worship ceremony is usually held in the evening, limited to the 15th day of July. During the "Mid-July" ancestor worship, the tablets of the ancestors are taken out one by one and placed respectfully on an altar specially used for worship. Incense is then burned in front of each ancestor's tablet until they are returned on July 30. When sending the body back, paper money and clothes will be burned, or the temple will also hold rituals to pray for the souls to be reborn. In some areas of Jiangxi and Hunan, although both are sacrificial festivals, the Zhongyuan Festival is more important than the Qingming Festival or the Double Ninth Festival.

3. Worship the Land

July 15th is the birthday of the Earth God who forgives sins of the world, so it is popular among the people to offer sacrifices to the land and crops. The offerings are scattered on the fields, and after the paper is burned, the colorful paper cut into strips is wrapped around the ears of crops. It can bless the crops to have a good harvest in autumn.

Release river lanterns

4. People believe that the Ghost Festival is a festival for ghosts, so lanterns should be lit to celebrate the festival for ghosts. Water and ghosts are both yin, which makes people think of the legendary underworld. Therefore, lanterns are hung in the water during the Ghost Festival, so it is also called setting off river lanterns. River lanterns generally have a lamp or candle on the base, which are placed in rivers, lakes, and seas on the Ghost Festival night and allowed to drift. The purpose of releasing river lanterns is to save drowned ghosts and other wandering spirits in the water. However, nowadays, releasing river lanterns has become a joyful activity, and those exquisitely made river lanterns are very popular among children and young people.