Ghost Day 2022

July 12th, 2022, is the day called Ghost Day in the 2022 lunar calendar.

There are so-called "SanYuan" festivals in China. These three days refer to the mid-day of the first lunar month, the mid-day of the seventh lunar month and the midday of the tenth lunar month. During these festivals, great events are celebrated everywhere from ancient times to the present.

The ZhongYuan (中元) Festival is also commonly known as the midday of July (lunar calendar).

Legend has it that all the ghosts were released from the underworld on that day, and the people generally carried out the activities of offering sacrifices to ghosts.

People would generally burn things such as paper houses, cars, servants and televisions to please the ghosts. Families also pay tribute to other unknown wandering ghosts so that these homeless souls do not intrude on their lives and bring misfortune and bad luck. Therefore, it is a festival centered on the worship of ghosts, and it is the largest ghost festival in China.

Traditions passed down, such as,

Do not wander in the street at night, go home early.

Normally, you can see people burn paper on the street (some areas will have a metal barrel) or just burn paper on the ground, but a circle will be drawn (suggest you not step on this circle when passing by, otherwise you might receive bad luck).

With the advancement of the times, there are more and more emerging activities such as watching ghost / horror movies at home, and going out to haunted houses. And some podcast contents was collected around early July when there are any paranormal events / stories to share, such as Dear David, etc.

However, I would feel that history is more or less still being passed on, continuing, in a more diverse blend. While, I am curious why it's understood as Hungry Ghost Festival since it has nothing to do with hunger.

Burning papers and houses means missing someone and wishing them a better life out there. Well, maybe different people have different interpretations of it. In fact, in my opinion, it is just a day to appease ghosts and think about deceased relatives, and friends (and any other day, of course!).

Cherish every moment and enjoy every day!