What is the July 15th holiday?

The 15th of July is the traditional Chinese festival of the Chinese New Year, also known as the half of the seventh month, the 14th of the seventh month, the Festival of Ancestor Sacrifice, the Bon Festival, the Festival of the Earth Officials, the festival customs are mainly ancestor worship, release the river lanterns, sacrifice to the souls of the dead, burning paper ingots, and sacrifices to the land and so on.

This festival originated from the early "July Half" of the agricultural harvest in the fall to taste the ancestors, "July Half" can be traced back to the ancient ancestor worship and agricultural harvest festival. In ancient times, people often placed their trust in the blessings of the gods for a good agricultural harvest. Ancestors were worshipped in spring, summer, fall and winter, but the "Autumn Tasting" in early fall was very important. Autumn is the harvest season, and people hold ceremonies to offer sacrifices to the spirits of their ancestors, offering seasonal delicacies to the gods for their enjoyment, then tasting the fruits of their labor and praying for a good harvest in the coming year.

Expanded Information

Customs

1, Hebei

Potou City, Nanpi County on July 15, carrying fruits, preserved meats, wine, kozo money, etc., to the graveyard of ancestors. And hold hemp grain to the field stalks, known as "recommend new". In Guangping County, seasonal food is offered to ancestors on the Mid-Yuan Festival, and fruits, vegetables and steamed goats are prepared and given to grandchildren, which is called "sending goats". In Qinghe County, on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, people visit the graves of their ancestors and give steamed sheep to their daughters.

2, Shanxi

Yonghe County readers on this day to sacrifice Kui Xing. In Changzi County, the sheep herding family slaughtered sheep on the Mid-Yuan Festival to compete with the gods, and it was rumored that this would increase the production of sheep. And give meat to the relatives, poor family without sheep is steamed noodles for sheep instead. Yangcheng County, farmers to wheat shavings made into cats, tigers and the shape of grains, in the field sacrifice, known as the "line field. The people of Ma Yi County used wheat flour to make children's shapes on the Mid-Yuan Festival, called "noodle man", and gave them to each other as gifts to the children of their relatives. In Xin County, farmers hang five-colored paper on the stalks of their fields on the Mid-Yuan Festival.

3, Henan

Shangqiu County in the Yuan Festival, hanging paper flags in front of the door, legend has it that can prevent insects. The first thing you need to do is to get your hands on a kite. Open up the county on July 15 in front of the door to draw a gray circle, burning paper in the circle in order to worship ancestors.

4, Sichuan

Sichuan Province, the custom of the Yuan Festival ancestor burning paper. To be a stack of paper money, sealed into a small seal, written above the recipient's name and name, the number of seals received, the name of the person and time. Popular legend has it that on July 15, when the ghost gate is closed, all the families have to "send children to the orphans". People around Chengdu use paper to tie "flower plate", put paper money and fruit offerings on it, put it in their hands, and read it while walking around the house: "Friends and relatives, neighbors, original residents, the souls of the dead who can't go back, and all the orphans and wild ghosts, all of them are invited to go on the flower plate, and send you back to the house. After saying that the end to the outside of the house to incinerate.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Chinese New Year Festival