What does the Mid-July Festival mean? What should we pay attention to?

What does the Mid-July Festival mean? The 15th day of July every year is the traditional festival Zhongyuan Festival. This day is also the day to worship ancestors to express respect for them. Regarding Zhongyuan Festival, perhaps most people don’t know much about it. Also, what should we pay attention to during the Mid-July Festival?

What does July 15th mean?

As the name suggests, the middle of July, that is, the Ghost Festival on July 15, is also known as the Ghost Festival. The Ghost Festival is a day that the Chinese people attach great importance to. Every year, many grand ceremonies of general salvation and worship are held during the Ghost Festival. This Ghost Festival is also the largest and most expensive of the many Chinese festivals. The Zhongyuan Festival is also the Buddhist "Yulan Festival". The Mid-Autumn Festival originated from the belief in the dead and ancestor worship. "All things come from heaven, and man comes from his ancestors." Offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors became the two major tasks of ancient religious life. For common people, their ancestors are connected to them and they share emotional connections with them, so ancestor worship is particularly meaningful. The Mid-Autumn Festival developed on the basis of the ancient autumn sacrifice customs.

Various names for the Ghost Festival

The Zhongyuan Festival is commonly known as the Ghost Festival, Giving to Orphans, and the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is called the Ullambana Festival in Buddhism. Along with New Year's Eve, Qingming Festival and Double Ninth Festival, it is China's traditional festival for ancestor worship, and is also a traditional cultural festival popular in countries in the Chinese character cultural circle. There is a custom of releasing river lanterns and burning paper ingots during the Ghost Festival.

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.

What to pay attention to in July

1. It is customary for people to worship their ancestors on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. People believe that their ancestors will return home to visit their descendants at this time, so they need to burn paper money to worship their ancestors. The worship ceremony is generally based on local customs and habits, and there are no specific requirements. This month, it is recommended that everyone avoid going to cemeteries or remote wilderness areas without reason to avoid attracting evil spirits, especially children. If you want to burn paper money at the grave, it is not recommended to bring children along.

2. It is not suitable to buy a car, a house, get married, or move. As the saying goes, buying a car or a house in the Ghost Month is likely to attract ghosts. Buying a car is likely to cause ghosts to get on the car, resulting in traffic accidents; buying a house is likely to make people jealous, and thus cause trouble, which is bad for you and causes accidents.

What is the date of the Ghost Festival in July 2021?

Halloween

3. The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is a day with heavy yin energy. It is recommended that everyone go home early at night, especially not to walk at night. If you must walk at night, it is recommended to go with a few more people. Especially for friends who like taking photos, it is recommended that you do not take photos on this night, otherwise you may take photos of unlucky things.

4. It is not advisable to go to the beach or pond, and it is even more taboo to go swimming. As the saying goes, water ghosts are rampant in the ghost month. If you get close to the water, the water ghosts will see you and pull you into the water. Especially when swimming in water, the water ghost will have the advantage and can easily turn you into a drowned ghost.

5. Ghost paper is a sacrifice to ghosts. When it is burned, ghosts will gather nearby to pick it up. If you step on or jump around while burning ghost paper, it will hinder their movements. The ghosts will be angry and will naturally do bad to you. At the same time, if you see paper money or the like on the roadside, do not step on or pick it up.

6. If you dream about your deceased relatives on this day, don’t be too nervous. This is a normal phenomenon. It’s just that you miss your relatives too much.

7. Clothes hung outside on the balcony, especially children's clothes, should best be taken back before sunset in the afternoon (around 4 p.m.) to avoid being possessed by ghosts or borrowed to wear.

8. Unless there is a special need, avoid playing near rivers or lakes, or other remote places with few people, especially children. If a child suddenly feels unwell, such as having a fever or headache, he or she needs to seek medical attention promptly.

9. Avoid wearing red strings, bells, or wind chimes. Focus all your attention and keep your eyes open. Don’t hang wind chimes at the head of your bed! Wind chimes can easily attract ghosts, and sleeping is the time when they are most likely to be "invaded".