The Meaning of "Remembering the Deceased Under the Lantern" on the Mid-Yuan Festival

The phrase Sending Mourning Thoughts to the Deceased Under the Lanterns means lighting up paper lanterns during the Mid-Yuan Festival to express condolences and nostalgia to friends and relatives who have passed away.

Background and Meaning of the Mid-Yuan Festival

The Mid-Yuan Festival, also known as the Bon Festival or the Ghost Festival, is a traditional Han Chinese Buddhist festival that usually falls on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. This festival originated from the Bon Sutra in Buddhist scriptures, and is considered an important event for overcoming the souls of the dead and saving them from suffering with compassion.

Symbolism of Paper Lanterns

During the Mid-Yuan Festival, people light paper lanterns or release river lanterns as a sign of remembrance and blessing for deceased relatives and friends. The paper lanterns are seen as an offering to the spirits of the dead and hold the thoughts of people for their departed relatives and friends, as well as wishing them peace and blessings in the afterlife.

Theme of Remembering the Deceased Under the Lanterns

The phrase "Remembering the Deceased Under the Lanterns" unites people's feelings of remembrance and nostalgia for their deceased relatives and friends especially during the Mid-Yuan Festival. By lighting up the paper lanterns, people send their thoughts of mourning and remembrance to the lights to express their nostalgia and blessings to their friends and relatives.

Methods and Ceremonies for Remembering the Deceased

Besides lighting lamps in tribute, people also go to graves or monuments to pay homage to the departed souls and burn incense and paper. This is a traditional ritual to pay homage to deceased relatives and friends and to supersede and pray for them. At the same time, people also recite sutras, poems or meditate on the thoughts of the deceased in their hearts.

Remembrance and Gratitude for the Deceased

Lighting paper lanterns and remembering the deceased during the Mid-Yuan Festival is not only an expression of mourning and remembrance, but also a way of expressing gratitude for the deceased. It is a way for people to recall the time they spent with their deceased relatives and friends, to appreciate the love and help they once gave them, and to wish them peace and happiness in heaven.

Cultural Inheritance and Moral Education

As an important part of traditional Chinese culture, the Mid-Yuan Festival is not only a transmission of family emotions, but also a carrier of moral education. Through the rituals of paper lanterns and sacrifices, people pass on their care for kinship, friendship and respect for the elderly and their relatives, and cultivate thinking about family, society and life.

Change and Development of the Contemporary Zhongyuan Festival

The traditional rituals of the Zhongyuan Festival have gradually been affected by people's busy lives and the modernized urban environment, which make it difficult for many people to carry out traditional rituals. Many families prefer to opt for simplified rituals such as placing ancestral tablets and burning incense to pay respects, instead of carrying out cumbersome sacrificial processes.