The Chinese ghost festival

499 Words2 Pages
Ghosts seem to be an abstract element. The scientists haven't figured out what ghosts really are and why people believe in the existence of ghosts. From the past up to now, almost all Asians have the belief in the existence of ghosts which can be clearly seen through some customs in many cultures in Asia.Yu Lan festival in China is a typical example.In this essay, we will give you some infomations about the Yu Lan festival, which include some more details about this festival, what people do and some beliefs of this special time. First of all, we'd like to mention some details about this festival such as : the optional names, when and why people celeberate this. Yu Lan festival is also called “Half July” (Lunar) and Zhong Yuan festival whichis a popular occasion celebrated throughout China. It falls on the 15th day of the seventh month of the Lunar calendar. The Cantonese celebrate it one day earlier, on the 14th. People celebrate it in order to pay respect to all the deceased, entertain the wandering spirits and help them to find their way back to their place. Next, we'd like to introduce activities that people do in the festival. People do a lot of things in this festival, but the most important activity is ritual which is performed by Chinese of the Taoist and Buddhist faiths in order to keep the ghost happy. Most people will carry the prayers out in the streets , they will prepare food like rice, rice wine, bean sprouts, tofu, fruits, diied longan, sweets and peanuts to serve the ghosts. The will also light a pair of red candles, joss sticks as offerings to the ghosts, and people also burn some different types of joss paper which are representative of currency of the ghosts. There are people carry this ritual during the day time but there some others do this at night when the night falls. They will burn the incense in front of the household's door. In

More about The Chinese ghost festival

Open Document