When is the 15th day of the seventh lunar month? It is one of the largest folk festivals.

The 15th day of the seventh lunar month, which we call the "Zhongyuan Festival", is commonly known as the Ghost Festival, the Giving Celebration to Orphans, and the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. It is called the Ullambana Festival in Buddhism. Along with New Year's Eve, Tomb-Sweeping Day and Double Ninth Festival, it is a traditional Chinese festival for ancestor worship. So what is the exact date of the Mid-Autumn Festival? Let us take a look at the relevant information about the Mid-Autumn Festival.

When is the Mid-Autumn Festival? One of the biggest folk festivals

July Mid-Term Dates

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is called the Shangyuan Festival, which is the Lantern Festival and has existed since ancient times; the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is called the Zhongyuan Festival, which is used to worship ancestors; the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month is called the Xiayuan Festival, which is used to eat cold food and commemorate the wise. The Ghost Festival falls on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, and on the 14th day of the seventh lunar month in some areas.

Dates for July 2016

Specifically: August 17, 2016 in the Gregorian calendar, July 15, 2016 in the lunar calendar, Wednesday. The Chinese zodiac signs are: Bingshen Monkey Year, Bingshen Month, Xinwei Day.

The true meaning of the Mid-July Festival

In the traditional Chinese understanding, the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is extremely mysterious. Most people have heard that this is the "Ghost Festival" or the "Ghost Gate Opening and Closing Day". They will also follow the custom of burning paper, offering food or performing other sacrificial activities, but they probably cannot explain why they do this. As for whether July 15th is the "Ghost Festival"? Why is it the “Ghost Festival”? It is even more confusing.

The origin of the Mid-July Festival

In fact, in traditional Chinese culture, the seventh month of the lunar calendar is not the "Ghost Month" but the "Filial Piety Month"; the fifteenth day of the seventh month is not the Ghost Festival but the day to remember and liberate one's parents in multiple lives, and should be called the "Filial Sons Festival." This is of course influenced by Buddhism. The ancient Chinese people's original concept of "July 15th" came from Buddhism. In Buddhism, July 15th is a very special day, it is called "Buddha's Happy Day" or "Yulanpen Festival". At the beginning, Sakyamuni Buddha's great disciple, Venerable Maudgalyayana, rescued his mother who fell into the hungry ghost realm after his death on July 15th, so later generations attach great importance to this day. As time went by, mythological stories such as "Splitting Mount Hua with Strength, Mulian Saving His Mother" emerged among the Chinese people. These stories were obviously fabricated by the Chinese people and were based on the "Ullambana Sutra".