What day is July 15 (July 15 is Ghost Festival)?

July 15, Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Ghost Festival, Dead Day and Half Moon. The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the Mid-Autumn Festival. People generally carry out ancestor worship activities. No matter rich or poor, we should prepare food, wine and paper money to pay homage to the deceased to show our memory of the deceased ancestors. The Mid-Autumn Festival is usually seven days, and there are old and new people. Those who die within three years are called new deaths, and those who died three years ago are called old deaths. Superstition is that the old and the new will go home to visit during this period, and the old and the new will come back at different times. The new one will come back first, and the old one will come back after the meeting.

So it is necessary to visit the shrine alone. The time to burn paper money is chosen at night. First, spread a few circles in the yard with lime, saying that paper money is burned in the circle, and ghosts dare not rob it. Then they burn it in piles, and when they burn it, they keep chanting: So-and-so will get the money. Finally, we have to burn a pile outside the circle, saying it is for ghosts. On the day when the deceased goes back, both rich and poor people should cook a good meal to commemorate the deceased, which is also called farewell.

The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the Orchid Festival, also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, commonly known as Ghost Festival and Shigu. The meaning of the Central Plains is derived from the Lantern Festival. In ancient times, the first full moon in the first month was called Shangyuan, July was the middle of the year, and the first full moon in July was called Zhongyuan, because it was the name of the festival.

July 15 is Halloween. What should we pay attention to?

On July 15, it is forbidden to hang wind chimes at the bedside, have a night outing, burn paper on non-specific occasions, steal sacrifices at night, and dry clothes.

July 30th was originally a folk festival to worship ancestors in ancient times, but it was called Zhongyuan Festival, which originated from Taoism after the Eastern Han Dynasty. Taoism has a "ternary theory", and the name of "Zhongyuan" comes from "Heaven officials bless Yuan, local officials forgive sins in Yuan, and water officials slow down in Yuan".

Buddhism calls July and a half the "Kasahara Festival". In the Tang Dynasty, the rulers respected Taoism, and the Taoist Mid-Autumn Festival became popular, and gradually fixed the "Mid-Autumn Festival" as the name of the festival, which was set on July 15 and has continued to this day.

One of the three Halloween, what day is it today?

The three ghost festivals in China are collectively called festivals. In some parts of northern China, the traditional festivals of ancestor worship, such as Tomb-Sweeping Day, Zhongyuan Festival and Hanyi Festival, are collectively called "Three Ghosts Festival".

Tomb-Sweeping Day is a traditional major Spring Festival. It is a fine tradition of the Chinese nation for thousands of years to sweep graves and cherish the memory of ancestors. It is not only conducive to promoting filial piety and family memory, but also conducive to promoting the cohesion and identity of family members and even the nation.

Mid-Autumn Festival, that is, the ancestor worship festival in July and a half, is also called Shigu Festival, Ghost Festival, Solitary Festival and Local Officials' Day. Festival customs mainly include ancestor worship, setting off river lanterns, worshipping the dead and burning paper ingots. Mid-Autumn Festival evolved from the ancient "July and a half", harvesting crops in autumn and offering sacrifices to ancestors.

Hanyi Festival, which falls on the first day of the tenth lunar month every year, is also called "October Dynasty", "Ancestor Festival" and "Ghost Festival". Folk call it Ghost Festival, which is a traditional sacrificial festival in China. It is said that it originated in the Zhou Dynasty.

Never do six things on Halloween.

Never do six things on Halloween.

Never do six things on Halloween. Ghost Festival is also called Zhongyuan Festival. In fact, there are many legends and taboos about the Mid-Autumn Festival in our life. We can also learn a lot about the Mid-Autumn Festival. Don't do six things on the following Halloween.

Don't do six things on Halloween.

1. Go to the river: The ancients thought that fooling around came from the Mid-Autumn Festival, so never go to the river, especially children. Now it seems that after July 15, the weather turned cold, the temperature was very low in the morning and evening, and the river became cold, so it was really unsafe to go to the river at night.

2. Call your name: Don't call your name when you are on a night tour. Try to use code names to avoid being remembered by good brothers.

3, it is not appropriate to make a hullabaloo about in the middle of the night. If you make a hullabaloo about in the ghost month, it will easily scare your good brothers and lead to poor sleep quality.

4. Try not to cut your hair: there is a folk saying that ghosts shave their heads. Now we all know that ghost shaving is a pathological phenomenon, that is, the hair on your head will inexplicably fall off overnight and form alopecia areata.

5. Avoid places with heavy yin: Try to avoid places with heavy yin, such as hospitals, cemeteries and underground parking lots. These places are full of yin, and it is easy to bump into things when yang is less. In addition, if you want to go to the toilet, you'd better not use the last pit, just like staying in a hotel but not in the tail room. If the popularity is not strong enough, it is easy to gather a lot of Yin people.

6. Don't hang bells or ironware on your body: According to legend, the sound made by iron bells has the function of evoking souls. In the folk, some people will use some metal musical instruments or tools to recall the souls of people who have lost their souls, and the sound made by the impact of iron bells can make people who have lost their souls follow the sound.

Never do six things on Halloween 2

The origin of ghost festival in July and a half

The Mid-Autumn Festival on July 15th is called Ghost Festival. In fact, from the first day of the seventh lunar month to the 30th of July, the gate of hell is wide open. According to folklore, there will be many ghosts wandering among the undead during this period. Mid-Autumn Festival is a day that China people attach great importance to. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, there are many grand ceremonies to worship Purdue. This Ghost Festival is also the largest and most expensive festival among many festivals in China. The Mid-Autumn Festival is also the "Magnolia Festival" of Buddhism.

July and a half originated from the belief in the dead and ancestor worship. "Everything is based on heaven and people are based on ancestors", and worshipping heaven and ancestors became two major tasks in ancient religious life. For ordinary people, ancestors are closely related to themselves and have the same feelings, so ancestor worship is particularly meaningful. July and a half is developed on the basis of the ancient Mid-Autumn Festival custom.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Buddhism flourished, and the story of "Mulian Saving Mother" was widely circulated, and finally evolved into Yulan Society. Taoism also has the theory of "three officials and three elements". May 15, July 15, and 10/5 are respectively designated as the birthdays of the celestial officials, the local officials and the local officials, and become the gods to bless the people and the local officials. As a result, July and a half became the same festival for monks, Taoists and mediocrities.

This festival is also related to Confucianism. Confucianism emphasizes filial piety, and when parents are alive, children should be obedient; When your parents die, you should also "pay homage to them", just like when your parents were alive. Therefore, Confucianism advocates ancestor worship in the Spring and Autumn Period, which is also July and a half. In this way, July and a half is the confluence of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.

In the concept of the ancients in China, there is not absolute opposition between heaven and earth, and there are people and many other animals and plants between heaven and earth. So there should be some ghosts who have not found a home for various reasons. In this way, in July and a half of July 15 in the summer calendar, people will not forget those ghosts who have not landed, and people will also sacrifice ghosts from all walks of life on this day. In the long run, a cultural tradition of respecting orphans has been formed among the people.

The story of ghost festival in July and a half

The Legend of July and a Half: The Origin of Ghost Festival

Amnesty for underground palace

Legend has it that a long time ago, there was an Amnesty in the underground palace. On the first day of the seventh lunar month, Yan Luowang, who was in charge of hell, opened the gate of hell and released a group of ghosts who were not worshipped, and let them come to the dead to enjoy people's sacrifices until the last day of July.

ghost

In July of this year, Yan opened the gate of hell as usual, and those ghosts rushed out of the gate of hell to compete for the sacrifices that people offered to their ancestors afterwards. Most ghosts lie down during the day, come out at night, and rampage among the dead. At night, people are nervous and restless. Timid ghosts can't grab offerings. A well-informed ghost is satisfied with getting a little; Only a few bold ghosts are greedy for money and blackmail.

In this way, those ghosts who have sacrificed can't bear it, but they can't do anything. They have to ask their living relatives for more support again and again. If not, the living relatives will suffer minor disasters.

Monk Manglietia

In this case, people complain and can't settle down. Just when the people in the dead group were at a loss, on the thirteenth day of the seventh lunar month, a monk came from nowhere. Monks travel around the world on the grounds of alms, but they are actually sent by the Buddha to visit and practice. This monk is none other than Manglietia, one of the ten disciples of Buddha Sakyamuni.

The Legend of July and a Half: The Story of Orchid Festival

Manglietia saved her mother.

In other words, Liu Qingjie, Manglietia's mother, was sent to hell. Mulian used her magical powers to see his mother fall into evil ways, with a big stomach and a small throat, unable to eat and very hungry. Seeing this, he took the rice to feed his mother, but as soon as it was imported, it burned to ashes. Mu Lian was very sad. She asked Sakyamuni for help.

Sakyamuni told him that his mother's sin was too deep, and all kinds of tastes should be listed in the pot and offered to all monks to relieve his mother's suffering. Finally, he helped his mother get rid of the pain of hanging upside down. Therefore, future generations should remember that on July 15 every year, a pot of Buddha and monk should be used to repay the kindness of their parents.

Ullambana Buddhist ceremony (July 15 of the lunar calendar, redemption of the souls of deceased ancestors)

Mu Lian, mindful of the Buddha's kindness in saving his mother, decided to travel to the world for three days every July from 13 to 15 to solve problems for ordinary people. With the permission of the Buddha, Mulian came to earth. Even when the eminent monk first arrived on earth and listened to people telling stories, Manglietia already knew the reason and made a bonsai on July 15th.

The legend of July and a half: the origin of burning paper money

Send mingbi

After the ceremony, Monk Manglietia told people that the offerings to the ghosts in the underworld are all food, which can only solve the temporary hunger and are easily taken away by other ghosts. The monk told us that while offering sacrifices, we should also send some money to ghosts to relieve their worries. It is said that there is a so-called deal in the underworld. The monk also told people that when sending money to dead relatives and friends, don't forget to send a copy to those ghosts.

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Then Monk Manglietia told people how to print and send Mingbi. The sender of Mingbi will wrap a stack of paper money in his wallet with white paper. The name of the deceased and the sender should be written on the wallet, and a big "seal" should be written on the seal of the wallet. It is said that this can not only let the ghost who collects money get his due share, but also prevent the money from being taken away by other ghosts. After wrapping your wallet, choose an address in the wild, put an offering, and start burning incense for money.

The sender said something in his mouth, or prayed silently in his heart, telling the deceased to collect money quickly and pray for the blessing of future generations.

The legend of July and a half: the story of eating ghost heads

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Since Monk Manglietia practiced, every year on July 15, there are activities of making cans and burning paper money. A few years ago, it really worked, and the yin and yang circles lived in peace. However, a few years later, the situation became worse and worse. Not only those ghosts, but also several ghosts with dead children came out to harm the world. They not only robbed offerings and paper money, but also repeatedly blackmailed ordinary people, making human disasters concurrent, plagues rampant and the Lebanese people miserable. People hope that Monk Manglietia will reappear in the world.

Zhong Kui, please

At that time, I heard that in the underworld, there was a god named Zhong Kui who specialized in fighting evil spirits. If Zhong Kui can be invited, these evil spirits can be cured. However, Zhong Kui is the god of the celestial world, and we are mortal. How can we move him? It has been said that as long as Zhong Kui's idol is invited, he will follow. Then, on July 15th, people really invited Zhong Kui's idol when they held sacrificial activities, only to see Zhong Kui's leopard head wide open, hideous, strange and ferocious.

Destroy the evil Zhong Kui.

Zhong Kui was a mortal, not only brilliant and knowledgeable, but also upright and upright; After death, it is more vicious and easy to be attacked. Legend has it that he was named "the sage of the town house" for his meritorious service in treating Emperor Tang Ming. Since then, the gods of Zhong Kui have been hung around the world, praying for peace.

Zhong Kui cures ghosts.

People burned incense and paper in front of the statue of Zhong Kui and kowtowed to God. Zhong Kui really came down from the painting. However, this scene can only be seen by the forbidden monks and the elderly. After Zhong Kui returned to earth, he caught many evil spirits, unscrewed their heads and ate them. Since then, those evil spirits have been brought to justice.

When Zhong Kui left the mortal world, he left six words: "Kill ghosts and eat ghosts." How do mortals eat ghost heads? Later, some experts realized the truth and thought of a way to make all kinds of flour into the shape of the so-called ghost head, then steam or cook it, and even say "eat the ghost head, eat the ghost head" while eating, which really stopped those evil spirits.

Never do six things on Halloween.

On the custom of ghost festival in July and a half

1, Purdue, Zhongyuan: Mid-Autumn Festival can be regarded as an important festival among the people. Many people will choose a day between the first day of the seventh month and the 30th day of the seventh lunar month to offer sacrifices with wine, meat, sugar cakes and fruits. Come to comfort the ghosts who play on earth and pray that they will be safe and smooth all year round. Rich people may also ask monks to cross over.

2. Worship site: July 15 is early autumn, and all kinds of crops are in the harvest season. Therefore, on July 15, people will hold activities to worship the land and the banker, and wrap the five-color paper cut into pieces on the ears of crops. Legend has it that autumn can avoid hail and get a bumper harvest.

3. Setting off river lanterns: In Jianghuai area, Mid-Autumn Festival is also called "Zhaihe Valley". In ancient times, on this day, monks would cross their souls by the river and put lotus lanterns made of paper into the river, so it was also called "Zhaihe Valley". Later, it gradually spread among the people, and this scene can often be seen in film and television dramas.

4. ancestor worship: the mid-autumn festival is just on July 15, just after the hot summer. People believe that ancestors will go home to visit their descendants at this time, so most people will worship their ancestors at this time.

5. Sheep-sending Festival: The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is also called the Sheep-sending Festival. In Shuo Wen Jie Zi, it says, "Sheep are auspicious." Therefore, it is a folk custom to make dough sculptures and steamed buns before July 15th. According to the actual number of people in the family, give everyone a big bag first. The steamed bread for the younger generation should be kneaded into a flat surface, which is called a noodle sheep. I hope that the younger generation will not forget the kindness of their parents. The flower buns for the older generation should be shaped into an adult shape, which means that children and grandchildren are full of happiness and longevity; Steamed buns for peers should be shaped like fish, called noodle fish, which means more than one year.

The taboo of ghost festival in July and a half

July 15 was originally a day for people to worship their ancestors, and later it was designated as Christmas in the underground palace, which is in charge of the gates of hell. On this day, the underground palace opened the door of hell, and it was also the day when hell opened the door. Countless ghosts flock to the dead for holidays, and the dead become their pastime, which can be described as "Yin Qi soaring into the sky".

Every Halloween, sacrifices are prepared to comfort ghosts. I pray that after eating, drinking, collecting clothes and collecting money, "they" will abide by their duties and not do anything among the dead. It would be great if "they" behave themselves, but some of them will come with ominous spirits such as jealousy, hostility, resentment, domineering, evil spirits and murderous look, and what's more, they will be in trouble.

In China Customs, it is not only July 15 that needs to be avoided. The seventh month of the lunar calendar is called the ghost month. In this month, the gate of death is often closed, so ghosts can travel on the earth. Although they are both Tomb-Sweeping Day and Double Ninth Festival, there are obviously more taboos among the people during the Ghost Festival than other festivals.

Taboo 1. It is said that at midnight on this day, the yin is particularly heavy. If you stay in the wild, you will see the wonders of ghosts walking at night, so everyone should go home early during the Ghost Festival.

Taboo 2. Don't put two chopsticks when eating. This is like putting incense on an incense burner, which is a mode of worship. You'll think you're recruiting him to share food.

Taboo three. Don't swim in dangerous waters. It is said that the "water ghost" will find someone to be a scapegoat in order to be reborn.

Taboo 4. Don't pick up money by the roadside. Money is used to buy cow's head and horse's face. If you infringe on their things, you will be easily taught a lesson by them.

Taboo five. Don't look back easily. Walking in the wild or sparsely populated places, you will feel as if someone is calling you. Don't look back easily. Maybe that's it.

Taboo 6, don't stay up late, the most yang deficiency is in the middle of the night, and the most ghostly time is also in the middle of the night. Staying up late can easily lead to discouragement and invasion.

Taboo 7. Don't steal sacrifices. These are the foods that belong to that. If you use them without their consent, it will only bring you bad luck.

Taboo 8, avoid bringing ghosts such as red ropes, bells and wind chimes, and try to avoid going out.

Lunar calendar 1 Is this day Ghost Festival?

Ghost Festival, as its name implies, is a festival related to ghosts and a festival to worship 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. This entry will introduce the origin culture of various ghost festivals at home and abroad in detail. In some parts of China, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Mid-Autumn Festival and Cold Clothes Festival are collectively called "Three Ghosts Festival".

In Oracle Bone Inscriptions, the word "ghost" is a word of understanding, and here is the word "person" with a terrible head on it, which means a monster like a person. Later it gradually evolved into something that changed after death. The Book of Rites, Sacrifice to Righteousness, has made it very clear: "All sentient beings have to die, and when they die, they return to the land. This is called a ghost. "

The Book of Rites and Sacrifice Law further points out: "Ordinary people in Shu Ren have no temples and say ghosts when they die." That is, after the death of dignitaries, there are temples to worship and sacrifices all year round, and they become gods. Ordinary people die, there is no temple to enjoy sacrifices, and wandering around, that is a ghost. The "ghost" explained in China's first dictionary Shuowen means now.

In some parts of China, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Mid-Autumn Festival and Cold Clothes Festival are collectively called "Three Ghosts Festival". Legend has it that ghosts haunt this day. At night, every household sets off firecrackers in every household to scare away ghosts and drive them away.

The first day of October is called "October Dynasty", also known as "ancestor worship festival" and "cold clothing festival". Since ancient times, China has had the custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors in the new harvest season to show filial piety and not forget one's roots. On the first day of October, ancestor worship, including family sacrifice and tomb sacrifice, is held in both north and south. Today, in many areas south of the Yangtze River, there is also the custom of offering sacrifices to new graves on the first day of October.

The first day of October is also the first day of winter, and then the climate is getting colder. People are afraid that their ancestors' souls in the underworld are short of clothes and clothes. Therefore, in addition to food, incense sticks, paper money and other general offerings, there is also an indispensable offering-ghost clothing. When offering sacrifices, people incinerate ghost clothes to their ancestors, which is called "sending cold clothes".

Therefore, the first day of October is also called "Clothing Burning Festival". Later, the custom of "burning cold clothes" changed in some places. Instead of burning cold clothes, people burned a lot of ghost paper in a paper bag with the names of the recipients and senders and their corresponding names written on it. This is called "baggage". There is a name of cold clothes, but there is no reality of cold clothes. People think that the underworld, like the dead, can buy many things with money.