Posted on 07/15/2022 12:33:51 PM PDT by nickcarraway
It may be known as the "Chinese Halloween," but the annual Hungry Ghost Festival — also called the Zhongyuan Festival by Taoists and Yulanpen Festival by Buddhists — is more than just a celebration of all things spooky. During the month of the festival, ghosts are believed to break free from the afterlife and walk among the living, and Hungry Ghost Festival celebrations include everything from planning a ghost-feeding ceremony to folding joss paper ingots. And while the festival includes some similarities with the Western traditions of Halloween, it has more in common with Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
Held during the 15th night of the seventh lunar month of the year in the Chinese calendar, the Hungry Ghost Festival is a Buddhist and Taoist celebration used to pay tribute to the departed. To ease the suffering of the dead (and to make sure that hungry spirits don't make any trouble), celebrants offer up ritualistic foods, money, and entertainment all month long. Whether you're looking for ways to celebrate the Hungry Ghost Festival with your own family or just hoping to understand more about the annual celebration, here's everything you should know about the Hungry Ghost Festivities.
What is the Hungry Ghost Festival or Zhongyuan? Many people are curious about what happens after they die, and while the unknown can seem scary, you may find that observing and understanding death can teach you how to live your own life to the fullest. That's what Ghost Month and the Hungry Ghost Festival is all about — among other things, of course. As Dr. Jiang Wu, an East Asian Studies professor at the University of Arizona, tells Woman's Day, "The Ghost Festival popular in Asian traditions is a unique way of answering our questions about death through reconnecting
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It’s a “Chinese” holiday. But who really celebrates it? I can see folks in Taiwan celebrating more readily than people on the mainland.
I thought the Hungry Ghost was my BiL who manages to empty the Cheetos bowl at every party without ever being seen anywhere near it.
Maybe you could get a grant to research it.
Did he have “Cheeto fingers” despite not being near them? :-)
Try a different snack to see if he complains about the change! :-D
Cheeto fingers is how we know it’s him. Too bad he can’t acquire jobs as easily as Cheetos.
Sounds like it would be fun, if the weather wasn’t so bad.
For everyone’s sake, I hope he can turn it around. If Cheetos are all he takes, call it a blessing.
Ghost month.
Very superstitious and has real life consequences that seem silly.
“It’s a “Chinese” holiday. But who really celebrates it? I can see folks in Taiwan celebrating more readily than people on the mainland.”
A lot.
It’s more superstition.
For example people won’t move in or out during this month.
Nor do you whistle, especially at night.
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