There are three ghost festivals in China: Tomb-Sweeping Day, Zhongyuan Festival (July 15) and Hanyi Festival (10/day). China people are not only humane to people, but also to ghosts. The most outstanding performance is the Ghost Festival on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month.
According to legend, from July 1st every year, the King of Yan ordered the gates of hell to be opened wide, so that the ghosts who suffered and were imprisoned in hell all the year round could get out of hell, get a short stroll and enjoy human blood. Therefore, people call July a ghost month, and this month is considered as an unlucky month, neither getting married nor moving.
July 14 or 15, when the gates of hell are open. Every household should prepare paper money, fruit bowls and sacrificial tables for burning scriptures. Steamed wonton and jiaozi. If there is a new death in the family, the scriptures will be burned before the gods are removed on July 13. What is burning scriptures is generally understood as a form of ancestor worship-burning paper and kowtowing.
Whether it's burning paper money to send blessings, holding daisies to mourn, offering sacrifices to ancestors online, or setting off river lanterns, it's the spontaneity of human spirit, the extension of feelings, and the most basic belief that people alive today miss the past and send blessings to their ancestors together. And at the same time, "the living should cherish every day, not be ashamed of society and friends, and not be ashamed of their loved ones who have left forever." Because, one day we will meet them. At that time, you can proudly say that you are a hero on earth and a ghost hero in the underworld! "
July 14/ 15 is not only a folk ghost festival, but also a Mid-Autumn Festival in Taoism and a Bonner Festival in Buddhism, which is a festival in which Buddhism, Taoism and Buddhism are integrated. Taoism has so-called heavenly officials, local officials and water officials, which are collectively called the three officials. These three officials are the representatives sent to the world by the Jade Emperor. Every year, they inspect the good and evil on earth and report to heaven. The birthdays of the three officials are the fifteenth day of the first month, the fifteenth day of July and the fifteenth day of October, also known as Sanyuan. July 15th, known as the Central Plains, was the time when local officials were pardoned. On this day, he will take out a thick roster and draw a picture according to the performance of immortals, mortals and animals, so as to atone and avoid punishment. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, people will carry out some sacrificial activities to save those ghosts.
July 15 is the Buddhist Bonsai Festival. It is said that Sakyamuni had a disciple named Mulian. Although her mother is young and beautiful, she has no good words and deeds, loves money and is stingy, and especially hates monks. After her death, she was thrown into the ranks of evil spirits, haunted by hungry ghosts and unable to eat. He asked the Buddha for help, and the Buddha felt his filial piety and awarded the Orchid Sutra. On July 15, he was allowed to prepare all kinds of fruits and utensils and put them in a basin to support ten monks. His mother just left the evil world and ascended to heaven. In view of this, the Buddha, by extension, asked Buddhist disciples to be filial and become a Buddhist monk on July 15 every year to repay their parents' kindness.