[Editor's note: This article is the original exclusive first release of Toutiao, please do not plagiarize and reprint]
«——[·Preface·] ——»
Zhongyuan Festival is a traditional Chinese cultural festival, and the He Chinese New Year's Eve, Qingming and Chongyang festivals are all traditional Chinese ancestor worship festivals.
Many folk activities have been given the color of "ghost" and "superstition", but behind them is the idea of "cautious and long-term", and its cultural core is still to respect ancestors and fulfill filial piety, and superstitious activities cannot be generalized.
So why is the Zhongyuan Festival also called "Ghost Festival"?
There are two main reasons why Zhongyuan Festival is also called "Ghost Festival": one is the three-element theory derived from Taoism; The second is the opening of ghost doors from the people.
Taoism believes that each of the three realms of heaven, earth and water has an official god in charge of human affairs: the heavenly official Shangyuan blesses, the prefectural official Zhongyuan forgives sins, and the water official Xiayuan solves misfortune.
Among them, the magistrate, also known as the Yin Judge or the Hades Jizo King, is mainly responsible for ruling the ghosts of the underworld, forgiving their sins, and giving them excess.
Therefore, Taoism sets the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar as the birthday of the local official, that is, the Zhongyuan Festival, on this day, the earth official will open grace and release some "A Piao" to wander in the sun, so it is also called "Ghost Festival".
There is a saying that the ghost door is opened, believing that the seventh month of the lunar calendar is the month when the yin atmosphere is the most prosperous, and it is also the time when ghosts are most active.
The 15th day of the seventh lunar month is the day with the heaviest yin qi and the day when the ghost gate is opened, and on this day, the earth will release all the "A Piao" to the Yang to find food and relatives, so it is also called "Ghost Festival".
What are the taboos of the Zhongyuan Festival?
01Don't walk at night
Don't go out on the street before 11 p.m., because this day is full of ghosts and the heaviest yin, so you should not stay outside on this day, and it is taboo not to return home at night.
In addition, staying up late and not going to travel at night are also important taboos in the Zhongyuan Festival, staying up late is easy to cause discouragement invasion, while staying up late is easy to encounter trouble.
In rural areas, the elderly often warn the descendants that the nights around the half of July cannot go out casually, because the unclean things will come out during this time, and the yin is very heavy, so people can not stay outside for too long, and spending the night outside is a taboo, especially people who are not in good health should pay more attention.
02Avoid drying clothes in the middle of the night
Wet clothes are easy to let free radio waves stick to them, not easy to get out, if "A Piao" is haunted, see good clothes will borrow and wear, by the way leave their smell on the clothes.
03Don't turn back easily
When we walk in the wilderness or in a sparsely populated place, we may encounter "as if" someone called us, and if we turn back easily, we may be in trouble.
This rule also reflects our reverence for our ancestors and should always be remembered.
04 Stealing sacrifices
On the day of the Chinese Yuan Festival, people prepare sacrifices for the "good brothers", which belong to them and are used without their consent, only to bring them intractable bad luck.
05Do not swim in the water
This is because legend has it that the "water ghost" will find someone to act as a substitute for the dead ghost in order to reincarnate. Therefore, people should avoid going to dangerous waters to play in the water to avoid accidents.
06Wind chimes at the head of the bed
Legend has it that if you hang wind chimes at the end of the bed, it is easy to attract "A Piao", and sleeping is the most vulnerable moment to invade.
07 Do not step on the paper
The paper is an offering to "Ah Piao", and when burned, they will gather around and grab it. If you step on the paper while burning it, there is no guarantee that it will not hinder their movement, and they will naturally be bad for you when they are angry.
08 Pick up money on the side of the road
This money is used to buy off the bull's head and horse noodles, and if you violate their things, you will easily be taught a lesson by them.
Therefore, if we pick up money on the side of the road, it should be returned in time as a sign of respect and friendliness.
09Do not pat others on the shoulder
The folk believe that everyone has three fires on their heads, one on the head and one on the shoulders, so it is best not to pat other people's heads and shoulders casually during the Zhongyuan Festival, so as not to extinguish the fire on his body and let "A Piao" take advantage.
10 night to take pictures
There are taboos and rules for taking photos at night during the Zhongyuan Festival. Because it is easy to take pictures of friends from the spirit world and take them home.
11 Shout names
When walking at night, you should try to use code names so as not to be remembered by bad brothers.
In addition, do not wear clothes embroidered with your name at night, so as not to be possessed by Genshin.
12 Slippers head towards the direction of the bed
"A Piao" will judge where the living person is by looking at the direction of the toe.
If the toe is placed towards the head of the bed, then the good brother will naturally go to bed and sleep with you.
In fact, these rumors are just everyone's attention to the Zhongyuan Festival, and there is no scientific basis for respecting the ancestor gods.
How does Zhongyuan Festival scientifically worship ancestors?
Zhongyuan Festival is an important festival for ancestor worship, we should respect traditional culture, but we should also worship ancestors scientifically.
Choose the right time and place
Generally speaking, the daytime of the Zhongyuan Festival is the best time to worship ancestors, because the yang qi is the most vigorous and can resist the yin qi. And at night is the most unsuitable time to worship the ancestors, because the yin qi is the heaviest, and it is easy to provoke unclean things.
Prepare the right amount of offerings and paper
Offerings should be light, healthy, and fresh, and should not use greasy, irritating, expired foods.
Paper should be simple and environmentally friendly, such as white paper, gold paper, etc. Do not use complex, contaminated items.
Hold a solemn and simple ceremony
Ceremonies should be based on expressions of respect and filial piety, such as burning incense and worship.
Do not use excessively cumbersome and pompous actions such as crying, shouting, etc.
Zhongyuan Festival is a festival with deep cultural heritage, we should respect traditional culture, but we should also worship ancestors and live scientifically.
Understanding the origin of the Zhongyuan Festival is the inheritance of traditional Chinese culture, not a superstition.
We should worship ancestors scientifically, and cannot be judged by ghosts and gods.
It is necessary to use the combination of rationality and sensibility to live a meaningful and warm Middle Metaverse.
What do you think about this?
Welcome to leave a message to participate in the discussion
Pay attention to @Mr Zhang said that health will take you to understand science and health more clearly
#Challenge: 30 days to write a diary in the headlines ##I'm going to be on the headlines ##中元节#