How did the Zhongyuan Festival come about? A comprehensive review of Zhongyuan Festivals in various countries around the world

How did the Ghost Festival come about? The Zhongyuan Festival is also called "Mid-July", "Yulanpen Festival", "Ghost Festival", etc. In addition to China, many countries also have the Zhongyuan Festival. Next, let’s take a look at the origins and legends of the Ghost Festival in different countries.

How did the Zhongyuan Festival come about? A comprehensive review of Zhongyuan Festivals in various countries around the world

China

The name "Zhongyuan" originated in the Northern Wei Dynasty. It is a traditional Chinese festival for ancestor worship, along with New Year's Eve, Qingming Festival and Double Ninth Festival. The Zhongyuan Festival is a Taoist term. In many places, it is not called the Zhongyuan Festival, but is directly called the "Ghost Festival" or "Mid-July Festival". Legend has it that the Ghost Festival originated from the story of Mulian saving his mother: Mulian's (Mulian is a Buddhist figure, one of the ten great disciples of Sakyamuni) mother fell into the realm of hungry ghosts and lived a life of hunger. Mulian was unable to save his mother from her misfortune, so he sought help from the Buddha, who preached the Ullambana Sutra and taught him to prepare the Ullambana Festival on the fifteenth day of the seventh month to save his mother. In order to commemorate Mulian’s filial piety, Buddhists hold a grand "Yulanpen Festival" every year, which is what we now call the "Ghost Festival".

Japan

Japan's Ghost Festival is generally called the "Obon Festival", and the origin of Japan's Obon Festival can be traced back to the Chinese legend of "Mulian saving his mother". Therefore, Japan's Obon Festival is a combination of the Buddhist Obon ritual, which is a ritual to save those who are suffering in hell by offering them the merits of the gods, and the ancestor worship that expresses gratitude to the ancestors for their nurturing. Japan's Obon Festival was originally held on July 15th of the lunar calendar, but Japan only observes the Gregorian calendar, so Japan's Obon Festival is usually held on July 15th or August 15th of the Gregorian calendar.