Why is July and a half called Ghost Festival?

Because the Mid-Autumn Festival is on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, commonly known as July and a half. Legend has it that all ghosts' souls were released in the underworld that day, and people usually carry out activities to sacrifice ghosts' souls.

Ghost Festival refers to a festival dedicated to or related to ghosts. Ghosts are an extension of human life in the period of ignorance. The concept of prolonging life in eastern and western cultures is slightly different, but people who die as ghosts have always been the mainstream of ghost culture. There is a Mexican Ghost Festival in the West, but the most famous one is Halloween. In some places in China, the four festivals, Shangsi Festival (March 3rd), Tomb-Sweeping Day Festival, Zhongyuan Festival and Hanyi Festival, are collectively called "Four Ghosts Festival".

Ghost Festival in July and a half is a folk name. In fact, it is generally called Mid-Autumn Festival in Taoism and Yulanben Festival in Buddhism. In the classic culture of Confucianism, it is also called "offering sacrifices as if they were present". Therefore, July and a half is a festival composed of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Together with the traditional Tomb-Sweeping Day, New Year's Eve and Double Ninth Festival, it is a traditional sacrificial festival in China.