What are the customs of the midyear festival What are the customs of the midyear festival

It is almost the midyear festival of July and a half, as a traditional festival in our country, it is based on the theme of Fengqin and Pudu, it is a festival where people place their ancestors on lovesickness, and it is also known as the "ghost festival" in the folk.

Half of July"Originally, it was a folk ancestor worship festival in ancient times, and it was called"Midyear Festival", is derived from the Eastern Han Dynasty after Taoism.

The customs of the Midyear Festival include releasing river lanterns, eating ducks, worshipping ancestors, worshipping the souls of the dead, burning paper ingots, and sacrificing land. Since each place has a different folk culture, different regions will commemorate this festival in different ways and customs.

The Midyear Festival, together with the Qingming Festival and the Winter Clothes Festival, is known as the three major ghost festivals.

The Zhongyuan Festival, Chinese New Year's Eve, Qingming Festival and Chongyang Festival are all traditional ancestral festivals of the Chinese nation.

The time of the Zhongyuan Festival is the 15th day of the seventh lunar month in northern China, and the 14th day of July in southern China.

Midyear Festival, also calledJuly 10, July 10.

Fourth, the ancestor festival, the Bon festival, the local official festivalIt is a major traditional festival in China. The festival customs mainly include worshipping ancestors, releasing river lanterns, worshipping the souls of the dead, burning paper ingots, sacrificing land, etc.

The "Zhongyuan Festival" is the name of Taoism, and the folk secular name is "July 14" (or "July 14"), and its production can be traced back to the ancestral spirit worship and related time sacrifices in ancient times. The festival is related to the principle of the cycle of yin and yang in ancient culture, and in the Book of Changes, "seven" is a changing number, the number of resurrection.

July is the auspicious month, filial piety month, July and a half is the folk early autumn celebration of the harvest, reward the earth of the festival, there are a number of crops mature, the folk according to the routine to worship the ancestors, with new rice and other sacrifices, to the ancestors to report the autumn harvest. The festival is a kind of cultural traditional festival to remember the ancestors, and its cultural core is to respect the ancestors and fulfill filial piety.

The customs of the midyear festival usually have these:

1. Put river lanterns. The purpose is to purify and pray.

2. Worship ancestors. Sacrifice to ancestors. July is the first harvest of crops, and it is customary for people to offer new cooked rice to their ancestors and share it with them.

3. Burn paper money. Sending money to deceased relatives and relatives, fearing that they will have no money to spend underground; Go to the crossroads and burn them to give some alms to the homeless ghosts, hoping that they will stop robbing them of the money they gave to their ancestors.

4. Burn incense and light cannons. Burning incense and lighting cannons, on the one hand, scare away the lonely ghosts passing by, and on the other hand, provide for them (the living are really contradictory).

5. Sacrificial land. It is also popular among the people to sacrifice to the land and crops, and to scatter offerings into the fields. After burning the paper, the five-colored paper cut into strips is used and wound around the ears of the crop.

Legend has it that you can avoid hail and get a good autumn harvest. In some places, it is also necessary to go to the Houtu Temple for sacrifices. Some local folk customs will hang hemp and valley at the head of the door (such as Dingxiang County).

6. Pray for a good harvest. Families burn incense in front of their homes to pray for a good harvest of rice, and put incense sticks in the ground, which is called "futian" (symbolizing "rice planting"), and the more they are planted, the better, to symbolize the abundant harvest of rice in autumn.

The customs of the Midyear Festival are as follows:

1. Worship ancestors. Folklore has it that on the 15th day of the seventh month, the spirits of the ancestors return home to visit their children and grandchildren, so people need to pay homage to their ancestors. There are many rituals to worship ancestors, such as burning paper at the grave, offering sacrifices at home, or putting river lanterns. In some places, there are also special rituals to take the souls of ancestors home on this night, and offer food to ancestors three times a day in the morning, noon and evening until they are returned at the end of July.

Second, the Central Plains Pudu.

Folklore has it that when people die, they become ghosts and wander between heaven and earth. Central Plains Pudu is to worship those lonely souls and wild ghosts who have no descendants to sacrifice, so that they can also feel the warmth of the world, which is also a form of expression of the idea of "fraternity" in our traditional culture. Between the 1st and 30th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, people will put out various offerings to these ghosts and pray for peace and good luck.

3. Put river lanterns.

Releasing river lanterns, also known as "releasing water lanterns" and "releasing river lanterns", is also a traditional custom of our Chinese nation. The river lamp is also called the lotus lamp, because the base of this lamp is often made of paper, wood in the shape of lotus petals, and sometimes even directly made of lotus leaves. When putting river lanterns, people light the lamps or candles on the lamp holders, and let them float beautifully in the rivers, lakes and seas.

Legend has it that in this way, all the undead can be transcended to the ideal world.

Fourth, the flame vent.

The flame mouth is a Buddhist ritual that is performed according to the Dharani Sutra for the Rescue of Hungry Ghosts. According to Buddhism, giving food to hungry ghosts is called a flame vent. After the ceremony, people will burn incense and worship in front of their homes, hoping that the coming year will be good and the harvest will be abundant.

Fifth, the bidding blessings.

After the end of the Midyear Festival, there is another entertainment activity - bidding for blessings. These blessings are donated by members and enthusiastic people who organize sacrificial activities, and there are many varieties and patterns, such as daily necessities; Children's toys, ingots, rice buckets, etc. Because they believe that "bidding" something can bring good luck to themselves, everyone is very generous, and these bid-opening funds are generally used as charity funds, and can also accumulate funds for the next Midyear Festival.

The customs of the Midyear Festival include worshipping ancestors, burning paper ingots, releasing river lanterns, worshipping the souls of the dead, eating ducks, and sacrificing the land.

The river lantern release on the Midyear Festival is said to have evolved from the custom of putting lanterns on the Shangyuan Festival. Folk believe that Shangyuan is the festival of people, Zhongyuan is the festival of ghosts, people are yang, ghosts are yin, land is yang, and water is yin, so Shangyuan Zhang Lantern is on land, and Zhongyuan is in the water.

The river lantern is also called the lotus lantern, which is generally placed on the base lamp or candle, and is placed in the rivers, lakes and seas in the middle of the night, and let it drift. The purpose of putting the river lantern is to purify and pray.

The ancient custom of releasing river lanterns on the Zhongyuan Festival originated in the period of Emperor Wu of Liang in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, when only monks put river lanterns in the release pond, and later spread to the people. It has become a beautiful custom for people to express their thoughts for their deceased relatives and to bless the living.

The customs of the mid-year festival in the Chinese area of Singapore:

In the Chinese area of Singapore, in addition to the traditional customs such as ancestor worship Pudu mentioned above, there is also a special performance to entertain the ghosts, which the local Hokkien people call the July Getai or simply Getai.

These stages are usually made up of makeshift stages in open spaces, decorated with sound equipment and lighting, and lined with chairs in the audience, the first row of chairs usually vacant for the "good brothers" (ghosts). Usually held at night, the performances include witty skits, magic tricks, and energetic singing and dancing, and are performed throughout the seventh lunar month.

The Zhongyuan Festival, also known as the Yulan Festival and the Diguan Festival, is one of the traditional festivals of the Han nationality. Its origins can be traced back to ancient Chinese sacrificial practices, mainly to honor ancestors and gods, as well as to offer condolences and reverence to the deceased. The following are the customs and origins of the Midyear Festival.

Legend: There are two legends about the origin of the Midyear Festival, one is the origin story of Buddhism, and it is believed that the Midyear Festival is to commemorate the enlightenment of the arhats, so it is also called the "Obon Festival"; Another legend is the legend of "Three Yuan and Five Elders" in Taoism, which believes that the Zhongyuan Festival is to commemorate the Three Yuan Elders and Five Old Immortals, so it is also called the "Diguan Festival".

Customs: There are many customs during the Midyear Festival, the most important of which is the sacrificial activities, where people will sacrifice to their ancestors and martyrs, and worship the gods in gratitude to express their thoughts and respect for their deceased relatives. In addition, there are traditional customs such as putting river lanterns, burning paper, chanting scriptures, and offering incense, and there are also celebrations such as lanterns and hearse parades in some places.

Origin: The origin of the Zhongyuan Festival can be traced back to the Han Dynasty, when the traditional activity was to worship ancestors and martyrs at this time. By the Tang Dynasty, the event gradually evolved into a traditional festival to commemorate monks, and it was not until the Song Dynasty that Buddhism and Taoism gradually merged to form today's Zhongyuan Festival.

The Midyear Festival, also known as Obon, is one of the traditional Chinese festivals, generally held on the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. This festival is mainly for the worship of ancestors and the sacrifice of the deceased souls to show nostalgia and remembrance of deceased loved ones. Here are some of the customs of the Midyear Festival:

1.Ancestor worship: On the day of the midyear festival, people will worship their ancestors at home to express their nostalgia and respect for their ancestors, and ancestor worship activities are held in some areas.

2.Worship the dead: The festival is also a day to pay tribute to deceased loved ones, and people will go to the cemetery or ancestral home to sweep the graves, worship and burn paper money to express their grief and longing for their loved ones.

3.Dragon Boat Racing: In some areas of the south, the Midyear Festival is also a day of dragon boat racing, where people will row dragon boats in rivers, lakes and seas to commemorate Qu Yuan's death and remember his deeds.

4.Fireworks Display: The Midyear Festival is also a day for fireworks, and some places will set off fireworks on the eve of the festival or on the day of the festival to add to the festive atmosphere and joyful atmosphere.

5.Vegetarian diet: During the Midyear Festival, some Buddhists choose vegetarian food as a sign of compassion and care for the deceased. At the same time, it is also taboo to eat pork and other meat foods.

The customs of the Midyear Festival include ancestor worship, the folk through a certain ceremony, the night to pick up the ghosts of the ancestors home, every morning, noon, dusk, for 3 times of tea and rice, until the return; Put the river lantern, the river lantern is generally to put a lamp or candle on the base, and put it in the rivers, lakes and seas in the middle of the night, let it drift, the purpose is to purify the water ghosts and other lonely ghosts and so on.