What is the difference between Qingming Festival and Zhongyuan Festival? What are the three major ghost festivals in China?

The Zhongyuan Festival and Qingming Festival are both traditional festivals in my country. They are important sacrificial festivals in my country and one of the three major ghost festivals in my country. So, what is the difference between Qingming Festival and Zhongyuan Festival?

The difference between Qingming Festival and Zhongyuan Festival

1. Different festival dates

Qingming Festival: around April 5th in the Gregorian calendar, the 15th day after the vernal equinox.

Zhongyuan Festival: The 15th day of the seventh lunar month every year

2. Different common names

Qingming Festival: commonly known as the outing festival and the Qingming Festival.

Zhongyuan Festival: commonly known as Shigu, Ghost Festival, Zhaigu, and Diguan Festival, and called Yulan Festival in Buddhism.

3. The objects of worship are not exactly the same

Qingming Festival: Qingming Festival is mainly for ancestor worship, expressing the filial piety of the worshiper and his longing for the ancestors. It is a cultural tradition of respecting ancestors and remembering the dead. Qingming Festival was originally an "ancestor worship festival" and was given the name "Ghost Festival" during its development and evolution in later generations. In ancient times, people worshipped their ancestors to express filial piety, gratitude and remembrance of their ancestors, and did not call the festival for worshiping their ancestors the Ghost Festival.

Zhongyuan Festival: According to legend, the Zhongyuan Festival is the "day of pardoning sins in the underground palace", but in folk beliefs, the ghosts worshipped on this day are not only ancestors and relatives, but also lonely ghosts.

4. The main sacrificial methods are different

Qingming Festival: Qingming is mainly used to repair tombs and worship ancestors and sweep tombs. During the Qingming Festival, there is also the custom of going outing and planting trees.

Ghost Festival: The Ghost Festival is mainly about offering sacrifices and burning paper money.

What are the three major ghost festivals in China?

Qingming Festival, Zhongyuan Festival, and Cold Clothes Festival. In the eyes of Chinese people, the importance of Qingming Festival is no less than that of the Spring Festival. It is normal for many people not to go home for the New Year since they work far away from home. But on Qingming Festival, as long as they are able, no matter how busy or tired they are, they will return to their hometown to worship their ancestors, mourn their ancestors, repair their ancestors' tombs, and offer sacrifices. In fact, in addition to Qingming Festival, China has two major ghost festivals, the Zhongyuan Festival and the Cold Clothes Festival. Among them, the Zhongyuan Festival is no less important than Qingming Festival!

1. Qingming Festival

Qingming Festival, also known as the outing festival, the Qingming Festival, the March Festival, the ancestor worship festival, etc., is held at the turn of mid-spring and late spring. The Qingming Festival originated from the ancestor worship and spring sacrificial customs in ancient times. It has both natural and humanistic connotations. It is both a natural solar term and a traditional festival. Tomb sweeping and ancestor worship and outings are the two major ritual themes of the Qingming Festival. These two traditional ritual themes have been passed down in China since ancient times and continue to this day.

2. Ghost Festival

The Zhongyuan Festival is on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, the day when the underworld opens its doors. On this day, people worship their ancestors, visit graves, and light lotus lanterns to illuminate the way home for the deceased. It is the time when the souls of ancestors return home once a year to reunite with their families. It is the most important of the three major ghost festivals, as well as the birthday of the Taoist "Earth Official" and the Buddhist Ullambana Festival! On this day, both Buddhism and Taoism will hold ceremonies to pray for the souls of the dead. However, Taoism is more inclined to pray for blessings, while Buddhism focuses on praying for the souls of the evil spirits in the underworld, resolving their grievances, and preventing them from harming the world!

3. Cold Clothes Festival

The Cold Clothes Festival is the easiest to understand among the three major ghost festivals. It falls on the first day of the tenth month in the lunar calendar. The main purpose of this ancestor worship is to send winter clothes to deceased relatives. The ancestor worship on this day is mainly to burn five-colored paper for deceased relatives so that they can make clothes to keep warm in the underworld to avoid freezing. It expresses love and care for the souls of the ancestors!