Start and end of Ghost Month 2023
Culture • By LTL Team HQ • August 18, 2022 Taiwan and its month dedicated to ghosts..?! The belief in the afterlife and spirits exists universally in different cultures and societies. Because of this, naturally, relevant celebrations, festivals, and customs come into being.
However, in addition to one-day Halloween and the two-day “Day of the Dead”, do you know that Taiwan even has a “whole month” dedicated to just ghosts?
Play Ghost Month in TaiwanThe so-called Ghost Month in Taiwan takes place throughout July of the lunar calendar. It is also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival. Collating to the solar calendar system, it usually begins in August and ends in September. 鬼門開 Ghost door opens on July 1st of the lunar calendar. The above is a picture book for children illustrated by Taiwanese artist 陳盈帆 Ying Fan Chen, winner of BOLOGNA ILLUSTRATORS EXHIBITION. Taiwanese people believe that the ghost door opens on the first day of the Ghost Month, and closes on the last day.
As a result, we set altars and prepare oblations on the first day to welcome their arrival and on the last day to conduct a farewell ritual for them. However, the greatest celebration is on July 15th of the lunar calendar, which is known as 中元節 Zhōng yuán jié (Zhong Yuan Festival or Ghost Festival) or 七月半 qī yuè bàn. Aunt Tiger || Taiwan Legend and Nursery RhymeThe story of Aunt Tiger is one of the shared memories of many Taiwanese. They also recognise it as one of the most terrible nightmares of their childhood. The Origin of Zhong Yuan FestivalZhong Yuan Festival is actually a mixture of three different religions:
Taoism LegendLegend has it that July 15th is the birthday of a Taoism god 地官大帝 Dì guān dàdì.
Thus, believers worship him for redeeming the souls of their families who have passed away from purgatory. Buddhism LegendThe legend of Buddhism is from the story 目蓮救母 “Ven. Maudgalyayana rescues his mother” (Maudgalyayana is Indian Sanskrit while in Mandarin it is translated as Mulian). Ven. Maudgalyayana, one of Buddha’s closest disciples, one day through meditation saw that his mother, who passed away a few years ago, was suffering in the realm of the hungry ghost.
Ven. Maudgalyayana felt sorry for her and tried to offer her some food. However, whenever she was going to swallow, the food turned into flames. She couldn’t eat. Ven. Maudgalyayana was so sad and helpless that he turned to Buddha for help. Buddha told him that he should rely on the help of many spiritual cultivators to save her. In order to invite them to save his mother, he must pay his utmost respect to every monk. On the day of July 15th (of the Lunar calendar), Ven. Maudgalyayana, personally carried a basin of water to everyone to let all the monks wash their hands. Later, he offered a hearty meal and delicious fruit to not only Buddha but also all the monks. Everyone reverently prayed for Ven. Maudgalyayana’s mother.
Celebrating Moon Festival in Taiwan – A Complete GuideWhat is Moon Festival in Taiwan? Your Ultimate Guide to the Mid-Autumn Festival How to celebrate and what to eat during the Moon Festival / Mid-Autumn Festival in Taiwan! Moon Festival in Taiwan, which is also known as Mid-Autumn Festival,… Zhong Yuan FestivalRedeem the SoulsIn a nutshell, the aim of Zhong Yuan Festival is to deliver those suffering and wandering souls from purgatory by conducting charity acts for them. The more good deeds and merits the living people do, the more powerful the amnesty and the redeeming will be. Thus the souls can be released and reincarnated into another being. This is the so-called idea of 超渡 chāo dù in Taoism and Buddhism.
Thus 中元普渡 Zhōng yuán pǔ dù refers to the scale-up ceremony for rescuing all the ghosts universally on Zhong Yuan Festival. Why is it called Zhong Yuan?Han people generally call January 15th (of the lunar calendar) 上元 Shàng yuán, therefore there’s 上元節 Shàng yuán jié. Maybe you haven’t heard of it, but what if we tell you that actually, it is the so-called 元宵節 Yuánxiāo jié, when there are lots of lanterns and fireworks?
If we go into more details, it’s actually relevant to the religion of 三官大帝 Sān guān dàdì of Taoism and folk believers. 三官 refers to 天官 Tiān guān, 地官 Dì guān and 水官 Shuǐ guān, which correspond to 上元, 中元 and 下元. 天官 is the belief from the sky, people believe that he gives blessing. 地官 is the belief in the land. He is regarded as the God to reduce people’s sins.
What is 好兄弟?
It’s due to the fact that they don’t want to offend those souls. Besides, calling them by 好兄弟 also illustrates the sympathy and the wish to get along well with them. Taboos of Ghost MonthPeople believe that they should avoid going to rivers, beaches or ponds during Ghost Month. Graveyards, remote mountain areas, abandoned buildings and places where there are not many people should also be avoided. Furthermore, people shouldn’t blow whistles at night since it’s easy to attract souls.
Getting married, buying cars, or buying houses are also things that people will prevent themselves from doing during Ghost Month. Of course, nowadays people are not as superstitious anymore. Many of them still travel to wherever they want without the consideration of these taboos. Chinese Food Culture // The 8 Great Chinese CuisinesChinese Food Culture 🍚 Discover What 八大菜系 Is and what Chinese food you’re missing out on… Do you know what the ‘eight great cuisines’ are?! Chinese cuisines have typically been divided into ‘Eight Great Cuisines’ 八大菜系 ba da caixi as… Offerings During Zhong Yuan FestivalOn the day of Zhong Yuan Festival, people set altars outside their front doors. Of course, incense sticks and paper money for ghosts are indispensable. Furthermore, according to tradition, people should prepare three kinds of meat (三牲 sānshēng): chicken, pork and fish, and four kinds of fruit (四果 sì guǒ) – literally meaning ‘four fruit’. 三牲 refers to chicken, pork and fish. But don’t worry if you are vegetarian because you can also buy its vegetarian equivalent, which is usually made of bread or even jelly.However, some argue that actually, 四果 doesn’t mean four kinds of fruit.
But the most important fact to remember is that the number of each fruit can only be an odd number. PLUS, another thing to remember is thatbananas, plums, pears and pineapples can’t be on the altar together. If you pronounce them all together in Taiwanese, it sounds like “invite many of you”. It will certainly be a problem if many ghosts come to your house along with their friends! Additionally, rice, dishes, sticky rice cakes, cups of tea and sake, a basin of water and a towel are also required. Nowadays, you can even see people prepare all kinds of oblations, from beverages, cookies, to even packages of instant noodles and cigarettes. Far from just relevant to homes, you can also see companies, stores, schools, governmental offices and communities setting altars in front of their doors and worshipping the ghosts.
There will be numerous tables filled with food and oblations altogether, just like a grand banquet for hungry ghosts. Pudu in Keelung County (基隆) is so magnificent that it looks like a feast for hungry ghosts.5 Traditional Chinese Musical Instruments You Should Know + MoreMusical Instruments in Chinese – We’re going to go through 5 Chinese musical instruments that we think you should all know. Other Events During Zhong Yuan FestivalAccording to different customs, each region has developed different relevant activities and traditions. 搶孤 Qiǎng gū (Pole-Climbing Competition)搶孤 Qiang Gu – Pole-Climbing Competition in Yilan County (宜蘭). The 42-meter-high shed is very spectacular.Yilan County (宜蘭) and Pingtung County (屏東) are famous for this competition. It originated from the custom of snatching the oblations after the huge banquet for hungry ghosts.
Take Yilan for instance, people will build a high and huge shed of 42 meters and 46,000 kilograms. The shed is divided into three parts. The lower parts consist of 16 pillars of 13 meters with 75 litres of butter on the surface. The middle part is a flat stage while in the upper part there are 13 pillars standing at 30-meters with oblations tied on them and a flag on the top. 搶孤 Pole-Climbing Competition in Pingtung County (屏東). There are foreign teams participating every year.The teams which participate in the competition should have eight people. Team members need to help one another to climb up the pillars and get the flag on the top. The team which gets the flag first will win the competition. The winner can not only receive a prize but also be blessed for the whole year. Team members unite together and help one another to climb up to the top of the shed.Nowadays, it has transformed into a rather international festival from merely a local pole-climbing competition. The government actively invites people from all over the world to participate in this special event. There are also foreign teams taking to the challenge every year. 放水燈 Fàng shuǐdēng (Float water lanterns)放水燈 Float water lanterns in Yilan County (宜蘭)This is another famous activity of the Zhong Yuan Festival originating from the Buddhism ritual, different from 搶孤, which has its origin in Taoism.
This event involves simply floating paper lanterns down a river or sea. In Taiwan, lanterns are usually made in the form of a house or a temple. Zhong Yuan Festival in TaiwanTheir size ranges largely, some of which can even accommodate a person. In order to let them float on the water, people put them on a raft made of bamboo or wood.
People will write some honorifics and their names on it to let the ghosts know who the donors are. Sometimes they will just write the information directly on the lanterns. The purpose is to light up the waterway and invite spirits in the water to join the Zhong Yuan Festival banquet. It is believed that the further the lantern floats, the greater the blessing the donor will receive. This is because it means that more ghosts will help. 水燈排遊行 Shui Deng Pai Parade in Taoyuan County (桃園)
They arrange those lanterns in a latticed bamboo frame, then place them vertically on floats in the Zhong Yuan Festival parade, which is very spectacular and eye-catching. People can join the event in Keelung (基隆), Yilan (宜蘭) and Taoyuan (桃園), which are three of the most famous counties for this celebration. 客家義民祭 Hakka Yimin FestivalThe famous 神豬大賽 God Pig Competition on Hakka Yimin Festival during the Ghost Month.Back in Qing Dynasty, Hakka people united and formed their own military self-defence force, which was called 義民軍 Yìmín jūn. They not only defended their hometown, but also assisted the Qing government to maintain order and safety in fighting against the rebel army.
As a result, the belief of 義民爺 Yìmín yé has become a Hakka-specific religion from then on. Apart from “God Pig”, people also compete to see whose goat has the longest horns, then the winner will be called “God Goat”.Hsinchu County (新竹) is famous for its Hakka community. The annual Yimin Festival is also a highlight of Ghost Month, which is usually held on July 20th of the lunar calendar. People prepare oblations and altars for a grand puja to placate the souls of those loyal force members and worship them with their highest respect.
The pig which weighs the most will win the contest and be offered to the God, which is the utmost honour for the owner. Goats’ owners also compete to see whose goat has the longest horns. An Introduction to Mahjong – The Experts Guide on How To Play MahjongHow to Play Mahjong – Your Questions, Answered Mahjong is a fun way to learn more about Chinese characters and numbers, and what they signify for language, history and culture. But how to play Mahjong? At any Chinese family gathering,… Animation about the Ghost Month魔法阿嬤 Grandma and Her Ghosts (1998)If you are interested in Zhong Yuan Festival, you definitely cannot miss the Taiwan-made animation 魔法阿嬤 Mófǎ ā mā (Grandma and Her Ghosts). The literal translation is “Magic Grandma” since in Taiwanese 阿嬤 means grandmother. It was released in 1998 when Taiwan still produced rather poor animations compared to those today! The production team went through a lot of hardships during the process, but they still went through all the obstacles and finished this incredible animation.
The story took place in the small fishing village of Keelung (基隆). Through animation, the audience can not only understand more about the custom of Zhong Yuan Festival, but also realize how Taiwanese people get along with and understand ghosts. For Taiwanese, it’s a film which scares them in their childhood but touches them to make them cry and laugh during their adulthood. Dragon Boat Festival in Taiwan – The Complete GuideThe Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 (duān wǔ jié), also called Double Fifth Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of May of the lunar calendar. The Core Values of Zhong Yuan FestivalThis distinguishes Zhong Yuan Festival from other festivals related to ghosts around the world. Unlike Halloween (when people use scary costumes to scare away the spirits) and Day of the Death (when people celebrate together with the dead), Zhong Yuan Festival reveals the sympathy and mercy of people towards all the ghosts whether they know them or not. It’s about selfless help, care and blessing.
It is believed that ghosts won’t do us any harm and will even help us in return if we treat them well first. Still wondering if you should believe all this about Ghost Month or not? Well, let me just give you a piece of advice, which is also a famous Chinese idiom:
Ghost Month || FAQsWhen is Ghost Month?The so-called Ghost Month takes place in the entirity of the July of the lunar calendar. It usually begins in August and ends in September. What is Zhong Yuan Festival?In a nutshell, the aim of Zhong Yuan Festival is to deliver those suffering and wandering souls from purgatory by conducting charity act for them. What to say Zhong Yuan Festival in Chinese?中元節 zhōng yuán jié Are there any taboos that we should be careful of?People believe that they should avoid going to rivers, beaches or ponds during the Ghost Month. Graveyards, remote mountain areas, abandoned buildings and places where there are not many people should also be avoided. Want more from LTL?
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What time does Ghost Month start?Ghost Month can be traced back to Buddhist and Taoist beliefs. According to tradition, spirits are said to break free during this time to roam the living world. This is observed on the seventh month in the Lunar calendar, from early to mid-August until early to mid-September.
How long does the Ghost Month last?Ghost Month is the seventh lunar month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. It is the scariest month of the year. The Ghost Month 2022 is from July 29 to August 26, 2022. It is believed on the first day of the month, the gates of hell open up and ghosts are free to feed and enjoy themselves for one month.
How long does the Ghost Festival last?Every year, for a month, the Chinese honour the memories of those who have deceased. The Hungry Ghost Festival is much rooted in Buddhist and Taoist culture and happens during the seventh month of the Lunar calendar and lasts for fourteen days.
What is the month of the ghost?In Chinese culture, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
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