Speaking of the word "ghost moon", many people may not be familiar with it, but if it is "July and a half" or "ghost festival" and "Zhongyuan Festival", I believe many people have heard of it slightly, and this festival also appears in many film and television works, especially in fantasy and thriller movies. So when is the "Ghost Moon", why is there a "Ghost Festival", and what should be done during this time period to avoid evil?
【What is Ghost Moon?】 】
"Ghost Moon" is the seventh month of the lunar calendar, of which the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar is the "Obon Festival", also known as the Zhongyuan Festival, which is often referred to as the "Ghost Festival" and "July Half", which is an important festival jointly owned by the two buddhist and Taoist families. Zhongyuan Festival, together with Chinese New Year's Eve Festival, Qingming Festival and Chongyang Festival, is called the four traditional Chinese ancestor worship festivals. In folklore, this day is the day when the earth house releases all the ghosts and lets them taste the fireworks of the world, or go home to "see".
Folk saying: The ghost door opens at the beginning of July, and the ghost scurrys on the fourteenth of July, that is to say, at the beginning of entering the ghost moon, there are ghosts wandering, and the fourteenth night is the most prosperous, until the thirtieth day the ghost door is closed. Therefore, on the first, second, fifteenth and last days of the Ghost Moon in July, worship is held. Especially on the night of the Middle Yuan Festival, people often gather together to remember their loved ones, burn paper money, sacrifice and other activities, in order to get them out of hell as soon as possible.
【Origin of Ghost Moon】
Buddhist allusions
【Common Folklore】
(1) Pudu
Pudu ceremony is a more important part of the Zhongyuan Festival, divided into several types such as street pu, city pu, temple pu, etc., and is the most prosperous in China's Fujian and Taiwan regions. The "Quanzhou Fu Zhi" records: "Zhongyuan Ancestral Ancestor, Temple View as Obanhui, commonly known as Pudu. Southern customs, the middle of the new year, each household has its own fasting offering, Luo Yu outside the door or in the qu, wishing the casualties of wild ghosts." Pudu rituals mainly include setting up offering tables in the home, placing offerings, hanging paper lamps on the eaves of the house and on nearby roads, or taking the offerings to the temple for worship, and the temple also holds large-scale blessing activities.
(2) Burn street clothes
In the Pearl River Delta generation of Guangdong, in the evenings around the Middle Yuan Festival, people would bring incense candles, gold and silver clothing paper and sacrifices (such as tofu, white rice, etc.) to worship on the side of the road. Not only to worship the ancestors of the family, but also to make good friends in the street, to provide paper money and food to other ghosts. Of course, after this act, the grapefruit leaves should be prepared and then dipped in water, sprinkled before entering the house, and then returned to the house.
(3) Put river lights
Many people will put river lanterns on the night of the Middle Yuan Festival, the river lamp is also called "lotus lamp", mostly on the lotus-shaped base to put a lamp or candle, put it in the rivers, lakes and seas, let it drift away. Folklore, this can be overkill the "ghost" in the river, so as not to endanger the human world.
(4) Worship the ancestors on the grave
Some people believe that ancestors will return at a specific time every year to visit their descendants, so they will worship their ancestors for their protection. On or before the Day of the Middle Age, prostrate to each ancestor, pray, and ask for blessings according to the order of generations and elders. On the day of the Middle Yuan Festival, the yin is heavier, and it is taboo to make loud noises in the cemetery, talk and laugh, speak inferiorly or behave indecently. So as not to disturb the soul of the deceased. Also, don't look back on the way back to the grave sacrifice.
【Folklore taboo】
1. Stay away from places that feel weird, be respectful, and don't talk or whistle, especially at the accident scene;
2, go out at night, it is best to go together, do not go alone to dark and damp places, especially if the body is weak, pay more attention, if you have to go out, it is best to bring some amulets and other energy products (those who are too old should return home early);
3, very late to go home, or to the place where the yin is heavier, first go to the place where there are many people and then go home, especially on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, there is nothing to go home early, do not go to the birthplace, the same month should try to go to bed early;
4, it is best not to shout other people's names at night, hear the words shouting your own name, remember not to casually agree;
5, do not pick up things on the side of the road;
6, do not randomly stick to the wall or crouch on the ground, it is easy to let negative energy close to the body;
7, do not dry the washed clothes outside the balcony in the middle of the night, and the best way to collect clothes is during the day;
8. Do not swim in the river at will, the time period when drowning is most likely to occur in July of the lunar calendar every year;
9. Do not hang wind chimes at home, especially in front of the window and at the head of the bed;
10. Try to burn paper money in accordance with the "rules", do not steal food offerings, and prohibit chopsticks from being inserted in the middle of the meal;
11, four days before and after the Middle Yuan Festival, is not conducive to marriage, but also not conducive to moving, once the family has a big happy event is best to avoid this time, this month's moving is best to choose at noon time, more clean house, can be sprinkled on the ground salt or incense purification aura, there are different customs in various places.
【Ghost Moon Transfer Method】
1, peach opening luck method: peach tree is a pure yang thing, can be used to drive away evil and avoid evil, peach has the effect of avoiding evil and defusing. You can eat a peach for three consecutive days before the start of the ghost month;
2. Carry away evil avoidance items, such as carrying amulets, Buddha beads, god and Buddha pendants, god beast pendants, glutinous rice, open light bracelets and other avoidance items, other faiths, you can bring your own religion to ward off evil items;
3. The person who is dry in the eight characters is decoction water, the person who is full of yin in the four pillars in the eight characters, the person who has a strong wet atmosphere in the yin in the eight characters,
People who do more harm in the eight characters and those who have more "ghosts" in the eight characters belong to the type of physical sensitivity and should pay special attention.
Zhongyuan Festival is just a traditional folk festival, which has become a little scary due to rumors, and should not be too superstitious and worried.
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