Ghost festival

The Ghost festival (盂蘭盆 節), also known as the Hungry ghost festival, is a traditional festival celebrated by Chinese in different countries. In the Chinese calendar (lunar calendar), the ghost festival is celebrated on the 15th night of the 7th lunar month.

In Chinese culture, this day is called the Ghost day and the 7th month is considered the Ghost month, in which ghosts and spirits, including deceased ancestors, emerge from the underworld. Unlike the Qing ming festival (in spring) and the Zhong yuan festival (in autumn) in which living descendants honor their ancestors, on Ghost Day the deceased are believed to visit the living.

On this day the kingdom of heaven, hell and the kingdom of the living are opened, and both Taoists and Buddhists will perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Inherently Ghost Month is an ancestor cult, where the filial devotion of the descendants extends to the ancestors even after their death.

Customs on this day

Activities during Ghost Month include preparing ritual offering food, burning incense and incense paper, preparing items such as clothing made from papier-mâché, gold, and other fine products for the spirits of the ancestors. In addition, elaborate meals (generally vegetarian) are served at the table with an empty chair for each deceased family member, treating them as if they were alive.

The cult of ancestors is what differentiates the Qingming Festival from the Ghost Festival since the latter includes respecting all the deceased, including the same generations and the younger ones, while the former only includes the older generations.

Another tradition that is followed is that of buying and dropping small paper boats and lanterns into the water, in order to guide ghosts and spirits of lost ancestors and other deities.

Source: The University of Hong Kong Libraries.