When is Ghost Festival?

Opening hours of the Gate of Ghost: from the second day of the seventh lunar month to the morning of July 15 12; The eighth day of the first month is also the time when the gate of hell opens.

It is generally believed that July 14 is the day when the gates of hell are wide open, so few people go out at night. This is just a one-sided idea. In fact, the ghost gate was opened and closed before midnight on July 14, that is, before July 15 12. According to ancient records, this time should be the deadline for ghosts to return to the underworld. ?

On the eighth day of the first month of the following year, that is, the day after the festival, the gate of hell will be opened again, allowing ghosts to travel around the world again. Probably these two gates of hell are wide open, that is, the cold in hell and the summer holidays. ?

There are three ghost festivals in China: Tomb-Sweeping Day Festival, Zhongyuan Festival and Han Festival. ?

Tomb-Sweeping Day is the time to go to the grave, and at the same time, it has the custom of climbing high, adding new soil to the grave and adding graves. In the past, Tomb-Sweeping Day was also called Cold Food Festival, which lasted for one hundred days. Cao Cao changed it to one day, and the Tang Dynasty changed it to three days before Qingming. All fires must be put out. After the cold food was served, a new fire broke out in the palace. Tomb-Sweeping Day, we're going to insert willow branches, wear wicker hats, fly kites and swing. ?

Legend has it that people who died in Tomb-Sweeping Day on this day cannot be reincarnated and will always be wild ghosts. Because there are many sacrifices to the ghost of the deceased on this day, such as roast pig, chicken, steamed bread, fruit and so on. But ghosts can't tell as usual. If the people who died on this day are eaten as sacrifices such as roast pigs, the new fools will not be able to enter the gate of hell and have to wander among the dead without rest. After 749 days, his resentment condensed and he became a fierce spectre. ?

Shangyuan Festival is the Lantern Festival on earth, and people decorate lanterns to celebrate it. "Central Plains" comes from Shangyuan. The Central Plains (July 15) was originally a day for people to worship their ancestors, and later it was designated as Christmas in the underground palace, which was in charge of the gates of hell. On this day, the underground palace opened the door to hell, and it was also a day when the dead ancestors could go home and reunite, so it was also Ghost Festival. People think that the Mid-Autumn Festival is a ghost festival, and lights should be lit to celebrate the festival for ghosts.

But people and ghosts are different, so the lanterns in the Central Plains are different from those in Shangyuan. People are yang, ghosts are yin; The earth is yang and the water is yin. The mysterious darkness underwater reminds people of the legendary hell and the place where ghosts sink. So Shangyuan lanterns are on land and Zhongyuan lanterns are in water.

July 15th is the most important of the three ghost festivals in China. Because July 15 is close to the harvest season, it is also the most important lukewarm time of the year, which is most suitable for ghosts to turn over. There is a Dojo that makes steamed bread for ghosts. On this day, ancestors are worshipped, graves are visited and lanterns are lit to light the way home for the dead. The Taoist temple held a grand ceremony to pray for the auspicious Dojo, the content of which was to cross over the soul of the deceased. ?

The most important thing is to make a ghost dress, buy paper, wrap it up and burn it in front of the door at night. Qin Tian Jian will release the new imperial calendar on this day. ?

Halloween taboo:

1, avoid hanging clothes in the middle of the night. Wet clothes are easy for free waves to stick to them and it is not easy to go out.

2. Don't sleep with long hair. When there is a ghost moon, there are wandering ghosts everywhere. If the long hair is very long, be careful to be mistaken for the same kind by them and insist that you get up and chat.

3. Physiological taboo. People think that female compatriots are unclean during the physiological period, and it is not appropriate to watch the construction and sacrifice, so as not to offend the gods, cause misfortune, or make the fortifications unable to proceed smoothly. Whether this statement is true or not, female compatriots should be more cautious during the physiological period because their physical condition is really susceptible to other powerful magnetic fields.

Don't celebrate your birthday in the middle of the night. People born in July are a little pathetic. On your birthday in the evening, there will probably be some unknown "people" singing birthday songs together. It is best to celebrate during the day.

Avoid catching dragonflies and owls. People think that these two kinds of insects are incarnations of ghosts. Grab at will and be careful to attract ghosts to the door.

6. Don't talk nonsense. On the day of Purdue in the Central Plains, their nests were almost full of ghosts, especially the scene of Purdue Fa Conference, which was absolutely full of ghosts. Therefore, when you are in Purdue, you'd better be careful what you say. Don't talk nonsense except the word "ghost". Be careful of ghosts around you!

7. Avoid stepping on paper. Paper is a sacrifice for ghosts. When it burns, ghosts will come around and grab it. If you jump around while burning paper, it won't hinder their actions. When a ghost is angry, it will naturally be bad for you.

8. Avoid patting others on the shoulder. This taboo is related to folk customs. People think that everyone has three fires, which will make ghosts afraid to get close. Therefore, in Purdue, the Central Plains where ghosts are the most, you can pat others on the shoulder at will, not just to put out their fire and let ghosts find trouble with him?

9. worship the door. On the first day of July, as soon as the "gate of hell" is opened, all the ghosts who are allowed to return to the dead to visit relatives will flock out of the underworld and grab food and offerings. Therefore, on the afternoon of the first day of the Ghost Moon, every family has to make sacrifices in front of their own doors, which is called "worshipping the door".

Because we just let the passing brothers have a rest and eat something and pray that they will not invade their families in their own houses, we don't need to provide too many offerings. Usually, we only need to do the following things: ①. To five-flavored bowls, cakes and cakes. (2) Insert a wick into each offering and pray that the brothers will continue on their way after enjoying it. (3) Burn some silver paper and clothes.

10, water lanterns, in the early years, water lanterns were often put into rivers, so they were also called "river lanterns". Because most of the river lanterns at that time were made of sawdust or pieces of paper, candles were placed in the lotus beds downstream, so they were also called "lotus lanterns". The original intention of "water lamp" is to show sympathy for the dead who drowned in the water, fearing that they would not find their way home. Therefore, the ceremony of "Water Lantern" was held ceremoniously the night before Purdue. I hope that under the guidance of "Water Lantern", the deceased can follow the water lantern, return to the deceased and enjoy Purdue sacrifice.