When is Ghost Festival? When is Ghost Festival?

Recently, it is often said that it is Halloween, and it is best not to go out at night, because Halloween is the night when all ghosts walk at night and the door of hell is open. Although these are superstitions, China does have this festival, so what is the date of Halloween? When is Ghost Festival? Let's take a look.

1, Ghost Festival is July 15th.

Every year, the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the Mid-Yuan Festival, which is usually called Shigu and July 30th, and Buddhism is called Sanli Festival. It is as famous as New Year's Eve, Tomb-Sweeping Day and Chung Yeung Festival. It is a traditional festival for ancestor worship in China, and it is also a traditional cultural festival popular in various countries in the Chinese character cultural circle. The Mid-Autumn Festival has the custom of setting off river lanterns and burning paper ingots.

Shangyuan Festival, Zhongyuan Festival and Xiayuan Festival are called "Sanyuan Festival" and are traditional festivals in China. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, it is called Shangyuan Festival to celebrate Yuanxiao, which has existed since ancient times. July 15 is called Mid-Autumn Festival, which is dedicated to ancestors. October 15th, known as the Next Yuan Festival, is a cold food in memory of the sages. July 15 is the first full moon night after autumn. At this time, the summer heat just faded, the golden wind came quietly, and the night was as cool as water.

2. Dietary customs of Ghost Festival

1, eat rice noodles

Today, there is a custom of eating seto flour in Dongguan, and it is almost common in Dongguan. Of course, different areas have different ways to eat seto powder. Seto powder, the traditional food of Dongguan birthday banquet, means longevity and longevity.

The most famous thing in Dongguan is roast goose. The most exquisite thing about roast goose goose is a delicious soup, which needs to be cooked with whole chicken, large pieces of meat and bones and many special herbs and spices. When eating, blanch the rice flour in hot water and put it into a bowl, then add a tablespoon of broth, and spread a layer of crispy roast goose on the flour.

2. Steamed sheep

In rural areas of old Beijing and North China, it is very popular for grandfathers and uncles to send live sheep to their little nephews on July 15. Legend has it that this custom is related to the legend that agarwood splits the mountain to save mother. After agarwood chopped the mountain to save her mother, she wanted to kill her abusive uncle Jiro. In order to rebuild the friendship between brother and sister and uncle and nephew, Jiro gives a pair of live sheep to Aquilaria every July 15. It is said that this is a homonym for taking the surname of Erlang and Aquilaria's mother "Yang" to reunite the two families. From then on, the folk left the custom of sending live sheep to my uncle, and later it gradually evolved into sending a sheep to the other side.

Another way of saying this folk custom is that the mother molded a pair of sheep with white flour for her married daughter. Of course, it must be steamed and the head of the sheep must be wrapped in red cloth. The bride's family will form a small sheep herding team to the new uncle's house, and the new uncle will cut the sheep and hang the first piece cut with red rope in the living room. It was not until July 15 of the following year that a new noodle sheep was delivered that this kind of "noodle mutton" would be taken down. Among them, it is emphasized that "the old sheep see the new sheep and have more food every year." After the new uncle shears the sheep, he will eat the sheep's head, the married daughter will eat the sheep's feet, and the rest will be distributed to the neighbors of the man's elders to show harmony and happiness.

Step 3 eat steamed buns

Before July 15th, dough sculpture activities were very popular among folk women, especially in northern Shanxi. A steamed stuffed bun shop, all the neighbors came to help. First of all, according to the actual number of people in the family, give everyone a big steamed bun first.

The steamed bread for the younger generation should be kneaded into a flat shape, called a noodle sheep. I hope the younger generation will not forget the kindness of their parents. The flower buns for the older generation should be made into the shape of adults, called noodles, which means that children and grandchildren are full of happiness and longevity; Steamed bread for peers should be made into the shape of fish, called noodle fish, which means more than a year.

Step 4 eat ducks

On the Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, many places in China will choose to eat ducks. Why? It turns out that "duck" means "pressure", which is homophonic. Eating ducks is to suppress ghosts. Moreover, chicken feet are rakes, which are easy to catch ghosts' clothes (probably because they are afraid of accumulating bad feelings and refuse to return), so it is more reasonable to choose flat-footed ducks. People in Dongguan usually eat duck stewed with lotus root.

Eating ducks in Mid-Autumn Festival is because it is said that the deceased ancestors will go home to visit relatives and cross Naihe Bridge in Mid-Autumn Festival, but they can't cross Naihe Bridge without a boat. Therefore, the living should send some ducks down, let them swim and bring them back. With the passage of time, eating ducks on Halloween has become a tradition.

5. Eat light food

In Dong Xian Township, Jiangsu Province, many villagers eat flat food (a kind of food made of flour and sugar) during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Now some people call flat food jiaozi, but it is very different from jiaozi. The difference between flat food and jiaozi lies in the skin first and the stuffing second.

As far as skin is concerned, jiaozi's skin is very thick, while the skin of flat food is as thin as cicada's wings and crystal clear. Jiaozi has very little stuffing, which is only as small as the thumb, so jiaozi is relatively small. Although there are more than a dozen jiaozi in a bowl, it only accounts for one third of the bowl, and the rest is soup. Moreover, the stuffing in jiaozi is relatively simple, and more vegetarian dishes and seasonings are added to the pork. Flat food is very different, not only meat and vegetables can be stuffed, but also chickens, ducks, fish, crabs, prickly heat and tender soybeans, etc., and special attention is paid to matching, chicken breast with celery, pork with shepherd's purse, eggs with leeks and so on.

6. Eat "jiaozi Cake"

On the roof of Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, they will eat "jiaozi", a kind of food similar to spring rolls, in the Mid-Autumn Festival. According to legend, jiaozi tube was left by Jigong. When Jigong was a monk in the International Temple, he saw that there were many dishes left in every meal, and he felt very wasteful. So he wrapped these dishes in flour bags and prepared them for the next meal. This practice is loved by all monks and spread to the people.

When making dumpling wrappers, stir-fry the stuffing and put it aside. Common fillings are pork, pork liver, shredded eggs, bean curd skin, winter bamboo shoots, bean noodles, celery, bean sprouts, kelp and dried fish. Then paste the flour prepared in advance on the "tobacco" and paste it into a thin round skin (paste peeling). Finally, wrap the ingredients in the pasted leather in order to avoid being too "fat" or too "thin", otherwise it will not look good. Jiaozi tube wrapped, also want to fry on the "tobacco" until the skin golden shine.

Besides, in Ling Du County, Shandong Province, the Mid-Autumn Festival is called "Pinzui Festival" by the local people, and every household has the custom of eating humble meals.