Zhongyuan Festival
Date:Zhongyuan Festival is fixed on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month every year, and the Gregorian calendar date varies due to changes in the lunar calendar.
Overview:Zhongyuan Festival, also known as Ghost Festival and Yulanpen Festival, is one of the important traditional Chinese festivals. It is centered on worshipping ancestors and saving the dead, and contains the cultural spirit of the Chinese nation to cherish the dead and remember the ancestors. Zhongyuan Festival, Shangyuan Festival (the 15th day of the first lunar month) and Xiayuan Festival (the 15th day of the tenth lunar month) are collectively known as the “Three Yuan Festivals”, which have important folk and religious significance.
Origin of Zhongyuan Festival
The origin of Zhongyuan Festival can be traced back to ancestor worship in the pre-Qin period. Later, with the rise of Taoism, Taoism designated July 15 as the day for the earth official to forgive sins, and advocated sacrifices to atone for sins and forgive the suffering of the dead. At the same time, Buddhism also advocated the Yulanpen Festival at the same time, encouraging filial piety to save the dead. These traditions gradually merged to form today’s Zhongyuan Festival.
Main customs of the Ghost Festival
- Ancestor worship:People place offerings, burn incense and kowtow at home, in front of temples or cemeteries to express respect and remembrance to their ancestors.
- Pudu lonely souls:Many places hold Pudu ceremonies to send food and paper money to lonely souls who have no one to worship them, praying for their peace.
- River lanterns:People put lit river lanterns into the water by the river or lake to drift, which means lighting the way home for the dead.
- Burning paper money:Burning paper money and paper products is an important sacrificial activity, symbolizing the provision of living materials for the dead in the underworld.
- Eating Yulanpen rice: This custom is influenced by Buddhism. People prepare food to worship gods and the dead, implying salvation and blessing.
The cultural significance of the Zhongyuan Festival
The Zhongyuan Festival is an important manifestation of the Chinese nation’s filial piety culture. Through ancestor worship and Pudu activities, people express their gratitude to their ancestors, their reverence for life, and their expectations for family harmony. It also reflects the traditional Chinese culture’s thinking on the balance of yin and yang and the cycle of life.
Today’s Zhongyuan Festival is not only widely spread in China, but also solemnly commemorated in the Chinese community in Southeast Asia. Despite the accelerated pace of modern life, Zhongyuan Festival is still an important node for inheriting national culture, reminding people to remember history and cherish the present.
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