Ghost Festival in China.

Three major ghost festivals: Tomb-Sweeping Day, March 3rd, July 14/ 15 (according to local customs, some places think July 14 is a ghost festival, while others think July 15 is a ghost festival) and 10.

March 3 rd festival

In Jianghuai and Jiangnan areas, the third day of the third lunar month is called Ghost Festival every year. It is said that ghosts haunt this day. At night, every household sets off firecrackers in every household to scare away ghosts and drive them away.

July 14/15

According to legend, from July 1st every year, the King of Yan ordered the gates of hell to be opened wide, so that the ghosts who suffered and were imprisoned in hell all the year round could get out of hell, get a short stroll and enjoy human blood. Therefore, people call July a ghost month, and this month is considered as an unlucky month, neither getting married nor moving.

Every year, the 14th/15th day of the seventh lunar month is Magnolia Festival, also known as Mid-Autumn Festival, July 30th or Ghost Festival. In the past, people prepared some vegetables, wine, rice, gold, silver, clothes and paper at the intersection on this night to offer sacrifices to ghosts and gods.

Lunar July 14/ 15 is the biggest festival in the underworld-Ghost Festival, also known as Zhongyuan Festival or Arahara Festival, and it is one of the three major festivals in the underworld in China. 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 on that day, Yan will will also spend the festive season with ghosts dressed in costumes. Let us living people bless them together and wish people in another world all their wishes come true and enjoy the happiness that this world has not had time to enjoy. Therefore, many local festivals in our country will hold activities such as offering sacrifices, chanting Buddha, sweeping graves, reviewing, enjoying flowers and fishing to celebrate.

Ghost Festival originated from the story of Manglietia's rescue of mother: "People with Manglietia monks have great strength. His mother fell into the hungry ghost road, and the food mouth turned into flames. Hunger was too bitter. Unable to save her mother, Manglietia asked the Buddha for advice. In order to talk about the Lanpen Sutra, he taught July 15 to be a Lanpen to save his mother. " It is said that at that time, after experiencing all kinds of hardships in the underworld, Manglietia met her dead mother Liu and found that she was tortured by a group of hungry ghosts. Manglietia tried to give her a bowl of vegetable rice, but the vegetable rice was taken away by the hungry ghost. Manglietia had to ask the Buddha for help. The Buddha was moved by Manglietia's filial piety and gave him the Lanjing. According to the instructions, Manglietia dedicated a rare fruit vegetarian meal to her mother on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month. The hungry mother finally got the food. Buddhists hold a grand "bonsai" every year to commemorate the filial piety of Manglietia, which is what we now call "Ghost Festival".

According to the book, on this day in ancient times, people would set up a magician's seat and a stone drum platform in front of Jiekou Village in advance. There is a bodhisattva in front of the master's seat, who is the treasure king who crossed the ghost of "hell". Below is a plate of peaches and rice. Shigu stood on the stage, holding three spiritual cards and evocative complex items in his hand. After noon, families put whole pigs, whole sheep, chickens, ducks and geese and various cakes, fruits and melons on the stone drum stage. The person in charge inserted a triangular paper flag of blue, red and green on each sacrifice, and wrote the words "Yulan Festival" and "Manna Gate Open". The ceremony began with solemn temple music. Then, the mage rang the bell and led the monks in the seat to recite various spells and mantras. Then feed, sprinkle a plate of peaches and rice in all directions and repeat three times. This ceremony is called "the opening of the flame". Wang Kaitai, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, once wrote a poem: "The Dojo is full of ghosts, and the original ancient meaning of Magnolia still exists. However, it is strange that the red plaque is attached to the door, and the meat mountain wine sea celebrates the Central Plains. " It describes the Halloween customs along the southeast coast of China.

It can be seen that "Ghost Festival" is due to the filial piety of traditional virtues. Nowadays, people in northern China still burn paper money on this day to pay homage to their ancestors who died young and express their thoughts for their loved ones. Although the sacrificial way is simple, it basically retains the simple meaning of Ghost Festival. Because of the call of blood, the extension of feelings and the reminder of one's future, Ghost Festival is endowed with rich humanistic connotation. Even if the years are different and the burned gifts are different, the living will never finish reading endless grief and deep nostalgia for their distant relatives. However, "people of different ages have different feelings about this special festival, because the future festival is coming to them mercilessly, from obscurity to clarity, from missing to fear, from fear to calmness. When they miss the people of the past, they are actually thinking about their experiences, contents, ways and pursuits in today's life."

On July 14/ 15, the gate of hell opened wide. Whether it is burning paper money to send blessings, holding daisies to mourn, offering sacrifices to ancestors on the Internet, or setting off river lanterns, it is the spontaneity of human spirit, an extension of feelings, and the most basic belief that people alive today miss the past and send blessings to their ancestors together. And at the same time, "the living should cherish every day, not be ashamed of society and friends, and not be ashamed of their loved ones who have left forever." Because, one day we will meet them. At that time, you can proudly say that you are a hero on earth and a ghost hero in the underworld! "

On the first day of October, it is called "October Dynasty", also known as "ancestor worship festival".

Since ancient times, China has had the custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors in the new harvest season to show filial piety and not forget one's roots. So people also use millet on the first day of October? Sacrifice ancestors. On the first day of October, ancestor worship, including family sacrifice and tomb sacrifice, is held in both north and south. Today, in many areas south of the Yangtze River, there is also the custom of offering sacrifices to new graves on the first day of October.

The first day of October is also the first day of winter, and then the climate is getting colder. People are afraid that their ancestors' souls in the underworld are short of clothes and clothes. Therefore, in addition to food, incense sticks, paper money and other general offerings, there is also an indispensable offering-ghost clothing. When offering sacrifices, people incinerate ghost clothes to their ancestors, which is called "sending cold clothes". Therefore, the first day of October is also called "Clothing Burning Festival".

Later, the custom of "burning cold clothes" changed in some places. Instead of burning cold clothes, people burned a lot of ghost paper in a paper bag with the names of the recipients and senders and their corresponding names written on it. This is called "baggage". There is a name of cold clothes, but there is no reality of cold clothes. People think that the underworld, like the dead, can buy many things with money.

Another story about ancestor worship is that Cai Lun made paper and Cai Mo burned paper.

When Cai Lun first invented paper, business was good. Cai Lun's sister-in-law Huiniang asked her husband Cai Mo to learn papermaking from Cai Lun. They came back to open a paper mill, but the paper made by Cai Mo was of poor quality and could not be sold, so they were in a hurry. Later, Huiniang thought of a way out of trouble.

One night, Huiniang pretended to be ill and died of anxiety. Cai Mo was heartbroken in front of her coffin. While burning paper, he cried and said, "I learned papermaking from my brother and didn't pay attention." The quality of paper is so poor that it makes you angry. I'm going to burn this paper to ashes to relieve my hatred. " When it was finished, he brought paper to burn. After burning for a while, I heard Huiniang shouting in the coffin, "Open the door, I'm back." This is shocking. When people opened the coffins, Hui Niang sang in a pretentious way: the money of the dead can travel all over the world, and the paper of the dead is for business. Who wants me to go home if my husband doesn't burn paper?

Huiniang sang many times and said, "I was a ghost just now, but now I am a human being. Don't be afraid. When I went to the underworld, the king of hell made me suffer and my husband gave me money, so many children helped me. Money makes the mare go. " Officer Sancao also asked me for money. I gave him all the money, so he opened the back door of the underworld and asked me to come back. "Cai Mo pretended to be confused:" I didn't send you money? Huiniang said, "The paper you burned is money from the underworld." . "Speaking of which, Cai Mo held several bundles of paper and burned them to his parents.

Hearing this, all the people present thought that burning paper had great benefits, and they all bought paper from Cai Mo. Hui Niang generously gave it to the villagers, and the story spread widely. Villagers from far and near came to buy Cai's paper and burn it to their dead relatives. In less than two days, the backlog of paper was snapped up. Hui Niang's "coming back to life" happened on the first day of the tenth lunar month. Therefore, on the first day of October, descendants worship their ancestors and burn paper in front of the grave to show their memory of their ancestors.

On the first day of October, there is a custom of offering sacrifices to the king of cattle in some places. According to legend, this custom originated from the State of Qin in the Spring and Autumn Period. One day, Qin Wengong ordered people to cut down a catalpa tree, which suddenly turned into a cow. Qin Wengong was hunted. The cow jumped into the water and never came up again. People built a "Noot Temple" to worship this cow god. Nate is a tall, strong and majestic bull. Such a bull, in people's minds, has the function of driving away epidemics and evil spirits and protecting cattle.