中元节 . GHOST FESTIVAL .

中元节 農曆七月十五日（有些地方，尤以中國南方，是七月十四日，相傳是宋代末年蒙古人入侵某地，居民為逃難而提早一天過節），道教稱為中元節，佛教稱為盂蘭盆節（簡稱盂蘭節），民間俗稱鬼節，七月半。
在漢字文化圈不少地區都有相關的節日活動，“先数日，市井卖冥器靴鞋、幞头帽子、金犀假带、五彩衣服。以纸糊架子盘游出卖。”。
相傳那一天，地獄大門打開，陰間的鬼魂會放禁出來。有子孫、後人祭祀的鬼魂回家去；無主孤魂的就到處遊蕩，徘徊於任何人跡可到的地方找東西吃。
所以人們紛紛在七月，以誦經作法等事舉行「普渡」，以普遍超度孤魂，防止它們為禍人間，又或祈求鬼魂幫助治病和保佑家宅平安。
因此一些地區在這一天有普渡的習俗，稱為中元普渡，後來更發展為盛大的祭典，稱為盂蘭勝會。


佛教典故
盂蘭盆節的和平祈福法會依照佛家的說法，农历七月十五日這天是僧徒功德圓滿的日子，佛教徒在當天舉行「盂蘭盆法會」供奉佛祖和僧人。據大藏經的記載，「盂蘭盆（ullambana）」是梵語，「盂蘭」意思是「倒懸」；「盆」的意思是「救器」，所以，「盂蘭盆」的意思是用來救倒懸痛苦的器物，衍生出來的意思是：用盆子裝滿百味五果，供養佛陀和僧侶，以拯救入地獄的苦難眾生。
這種儀式最早從南北朝時代目連救母的功德法會中開始流行。
相傳目連的母親做了很多壞事，死後變成了餓鬼，目連知道後十分傷心，就運用法力，將一些飯菜拿給母親吃 ，可是飯一到母親口邊就化為灰焰，釋迦牟尼佛告訴他，必須集合眾人的力量，於每年七月中以百味五果，置於盆中，供養十方僧人，以此般功德，其母方能濟度，目蓮依佛意行事，其母終得解脫。
後來這一傳說形成一種民間習俗，並逐漸演變，從供養僧人演變成供養鬼魂。每年到了農曆七月中，人們都會宰雞殺鴨，焚香燒衣，拜祭由地府出來的餓鬼，用以化解其怨氣，不致於為禍人間。久而久之，就有了盂蘭盆節這一節日。


道教說法
道家全年的盛會分三次（合稱為「三元」），認為「三元」就是天官、地官及水官「三官」的別稱，正月十五、七月十五以及十月十五各為三官大帝的誕辰。

正月十五日稱為「上元」——主要是舉行賜福的儀式。
七月十五日稱為「中元」——用以赦免亡魂的罪。（中元法事是為亡魂赦罪，但是絕對不能完全解除罪孽，只是減輕了一些，希望他們早日安息。）
十月十五日稱為「下元」——是為有過失的人解除厄運。

相傳七月地獄大門開放一個月，所有的無主孤魂全從陰間出來，到陽間找東西吃，因此各地方都紛紛在這一個月舉行「普度」的祭祀儀式。
從前，各地輪流進行普度，把七月的每一天安排得滿滿的，引起孤魂野鬼的酗酒、毆鬥事件；後來的普度便統一在七月十五日舉行。


民間信仰與祭典
中元普渡在诸多华人社会如马来西亚、中國大陆、香港、台灣、新加坡等，中元是相當重要的民俗節日，不少人會在舊曆的七月初一到七月卅日之間，擇日舉辦祭祀活動，以慰在人世間遊玩的眾家鬼魂，並祈求全年的平安順利。
較為隆重者，甚至請來僧、道誦經作法超度亡魂。
也有人會在這段時間，請出地藏菩薩佛像放置高台、或請藝師扮演驅魔大神鍾馗（有的是請藝師操控鍾馗之傀儡），以消弭死者亡魂的戾氣。有些地方祭拜亡靈之前，會先祭拜一位名為面燃大士的神祇，俗稱「大士爺」（信徒多尊稱其為「普渡公」）。
相傳舊曆七月，所有在陽世的亡靈，都歸「大士爺」管理。
這位神祇的來由有二說：一是祂是觀音大士的化身，故稱「大士爺」。二是祂原為諸鬼的首領，因受觀音大士教化而皈依其門下，從此被稱作「大士爺」，成為護持中元普渡事項的神明。
有的祭祀者為求隆重，會以紙紮出大士爺塑像，在祭祀期間，會將大士爺塑像放置供桌之前，以求祭祀順利。
大士爺樣貌一般是：頂生二角、青面獠牙，高大威武，頭上還有一尊觀世音菩薩佛像，象徵其代表慈悲的觀音大士。



Ghost Festival
The Ghost Festival (simplified Chinese: 中元节; traditional Chinese: 中元節; pinyin: zhōngyuánjié, alternatively simplified Chinese: 鬼节; traditional Chinese: 鬼節; pinyin: guǐjié) is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday, which is celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh lunar month.

In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm. During the Qingming Festival the living descendants pay homage to their ancestors and on Ghost Day, the deceased visit the living.

On the fifteenth day the three realms of Heaven, Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.

Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mache form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors. Elaborate meals would be served with empty seats for each of the deceased in the family treating the deceased as if they are still living.

Ancestor worship is what distinguishes Qingming Festival from Ghost Festival because the latter includes paying respects to all deceased, including the same and younger generations, while the former only includes older generations.

Other festivities may include, buying and releasing miniature paper boats and lanterns on water, which signifies giving directions to the lost ghosts and spirits of the ancestors and other deities.

The Ghost Festival shares some similarities with the predominantly Mexican observance of El Día de los Muertos. Due to theme of ghosts and spirits, the festival is sometimes also known as the Chinese Halloween, though many have debated the difference between the two.


Buddhist Ghost Festival : Ullambana
Both Buddhists and Taoists claim that the Ghost Festival originated with their religion but its roots are probably in Chinese folk religion and antedates both religions (see Stephen Teiser's 1988 book, The Ghost Festival in Medieval China). In the Tang Dynasty, the Buddhist festival Ullambana and the Ghost Festival were mixed and celebrated together.


Ullambana origin
The Buddha's joyful day
To Buddhists, the seventh lunar month is a month of joy. This is because the fifteenth day of the seventh month is often known as the Buddha's joyful day and the day of rejoice for monks. The origins of the Buddha's joyful day can be found in various scriptures. When the Buddha was alive, his disciples meditated in the forests of India during the rainy season of summer.

Three months later, on the fifteen day of the seventh month, they would emerge from the forests to celebrate the completion of their meditation and report their progress to the Buddha. In the Ullambana Sutra, the Buddha instructs his disciple Maudgalyāyana on how to obtain liberation for his mother, who had been reborn into a lower realm, by making food offerings to the sangha on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.
Because the number of monks who attained enlightenment during that period was high, the Buddha was very pleased.


Mahāmaudgalyāyana saves his mother from hell
The Buddhist origins of the festival can be traced back to a story that originally came from India, but later took on culturally Chinese overtones. In the Ullambana Sutra, there is a descriptive account of a Buddhist monk named Mahāmaudgalyāyana, originally a brahmin youth who later ordained, and later becoming one of the Buddha's chief disciples. Mahāmaudgalyāyana was also known for having clairvoyant powers, an uncommon trait amongst monks.

After he attained arhatship, he began to think deeply of his parents, and wondered what happened to them. He used his clairvoyance to see where they were reborn and found his father in the heavenly realms i.e the realm of the gods. However, his mother had been reborn in a lower realm, known as the Realm of Hungry Ghosts.

His mother took on the form of a hungry ghost (preta) – so called because it could not eat due to its highly thin & fragile throat in which no food could pass through, yet it was always hungry because it had a fat belly. His mother had been greedy with the money he left her. He had instructed her to kindly host any Buddhist monks that ever came her way, but instead she withheld her kindness and her money. It was for this reason she was reborn in the realm of hungry ghosts.

Mahāmaudgalyāyana eased his mother's suffering by receiving the instructions of feeding pretas from the Buddha. The Buddha instructed Mahāmaudgalyāyana to place pieces of food on a clean plate, reciting a mantra seven times, snap his fingers then tip the food on clean ground. By doing so, the preta's hunger was relieved and through these merits, his mother was reborn as a dog under the care of a noble family.

Mahāmaudgalyāyana also sought the Buddha's advice to help his mother gain a human birth. The Buddha established a day after the traditional summer retreat (the 15th day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar, usually mid-to-late August) on which Mahāmaudgalyāyana was to offer food and robes to 500 bhikkhus. Through the merits created, Mahāmaudgalyāyana's mother finally gained a human birth.

Due to Confucian influence, the offering became directed towards ancestors rather than the Sangha and ancestor worship has replaced the simple ritual of relieving the hunger of pretas. However, most Buddhist temples still continue the ancient practice of donating to the Sangha as well as to perform rituals for the hungry ghosts.


Festivities
The Ghost Festival is celebrated during the 7th month of the Chinese Lunar calendar. It also falls at the same time as a full moon, the new season, the fall harvest, the peak of Buddhist monastic asceticism, the rebirth of ancestors, and the assembly of the local community. During this month, the gates of hell are opened up and ghosts are free to roam the earth where they seek food and entertainment.

These ghosts are believed to be ancestors of those who have forgotten to pay tribute to them after they had died, or those who have suffered deaths and were never given a proper ritual for a sendoff. They have long thin necks because they have not been fed by their family, or it is a sign of punishment so they are unable to swallow.

Family members would offer prayers to their deceased relatives and would burn joss paper. Such paper items are only valid in the underworld, which is why they burn it as offering to the ghosts that have come from the gates of hell. Like in the material world, the afterlife is very similar in some aspects, and the paper effigies of material goods would provide comfort to those who have nothing in the afterlife. People would also burn other things such as paper houses, cars, servants and televisions to please the ghosts.

Families would also pay tribute to other unknown wandering ghosts so that these homeless souls would not intrude on their lives and bring misfortune and bad luck. A large feast is held for the ghosts on the 15th day of the 7th month, where everyone brings samplings of food and places them on the offering table to please the ghosts and ward off bad luck. In some East Asian countries today, live performances would be held and everyone was invited to attend.

The first row of seats are always empty as this is where the ghosts would sit. The shows were always put on at night and at high volumes as the sound would attract and please the ghosts. Some shows include Chinese opera, dramas, and in some areas, even burlesque shows.These acts are better known as "Merry-making".

For rituals, Buddhist and Taoists alike would hold ceremonies to relieve ghosts from suffering, many of them holding ceremonies in the afternoon or at night (as it is believed that the ghosts are released from hell when the sun sets). Altars are built for the deceased and priests and monks alike perform rituals for the benefit of ghosts. Monks and priests often throw rice or other small foods into the air in all directions to distribute them to the ghosts.

During the evening, incense is burnt in front of the doors of each household. Incense stands for prosperity in Chinese culture, so families believe that there is more prosperity in burning more incense.

During the festival, some shops are closed as they wanted to leave the streets open for the ghosts. In the middle of each street stood an altar of incense with fresh fruit and sacrifices displayed on it.

15 days after the festival, to make sure all the hungry ghosts find their way back to hell, people flow water lanterns and set them outside their houses (a practice mostly found amongst the Japanese). These lanterns are made by setting a lotus flower-shaped lantern on a paper boat. The lanterns are used to direct the ghosts back to the underworld, and when they go out, it symbolizes that they found their way back.


A difference between the two
Chinese Buddhists often say that there is a difference between Ullambana and the traditional Chinese Zhongyuan Jie, usually saying people have mixed superstitions (such as burning joss paper items) and delusional thoughts, rather than think that Ullambana is actually a time of happiness.

This time of happiness is sometimes used as a reason for the festival to be called as the Chinese Halloween.