Chinese Ghost Festival

Date: August 23, 2008

Chinese Ghost Festival is on the fifteenth of the seventh month by lunar calendar. This month is called “the month of ghosts”. Chinese legend says all ghosts are set free from the hell to enjoy their precious vacation in the human world in the month. In order to beg blessings from ghosts, people prepare great foods to please them.

In the legend, there is a high official of the hell who is responsible for assigning a dead soul to the heaven or the hell. It depends if a dead soul has been kind, generous, good mannered in the human world or not. In ancient time people blamed themselves for not serving the ghost well so they got punished in the form of disasters, episodes of deadly diseases or bad luck to individual families.

On the day of Ghost Festival, people hold a great procession by the will of the high official of the hell, Cheng Huang Ya. A committee of the Temple Cheng Huang organizes the procession. Cheng Huang Ya clears bad spirits and brings the peace to the human world in the procession. He leads his troop to perform this duty. There are two main generals in the troop. The tall general surnamed Xie has a white face and a mild temper. His partner, General Fan is short and black faced. He is well known for his bad temper. There are also two messengers of the hell join the procession. One is bull headed and the other is horse faced. The legend says only the dying can see these two messengers who bring the dead soul to Cheng Huang Ya.

In Hsinchu City, the procession goes along the original four fort gates which have disappeared because of the city development. It always attracts lots of people who either join the procession or watch it on the route. When the carriage of Cheng Huang Ya passes by, people burn incents. After it leaves a temple, firecrackers are set off too. What’s more interesting is people would grab pastry wearing on theses generals’ necks. The pastry symbolizes blessings from the gods.

Chinese Ghost Festival lasts for a month. In the end of the month all ghosts are supposed to return to the hell before it closes. The festival is not only the time for ghosts to enjoy the “vacation” but also the time for the live to show their respect to the dead and remember their ancestors.