Rituals for the dead, from the Hungry Ghost Festival to Halloween
Halloween might be over, but who else here is still not quite ready to let go of the spirit of spookiness?
How about we compare this to traditions that take place on a different but similar ghostly festival in Chinese culture — the Ghost Month and the Ghost Festival?
Halloween
While Halloween isn’t a public holiday in Hong Kong, its associated traditions have spread from the West over to Asia, and here, themed festivities can be spotted decorating shopping districts like Causeway Bay. Mostly, shops and restaurants would put up decorations or sell Halloween-themed products (basically, products in orange and black colors). The practice of dressing in costumes is perhaps more prevalent among young people, especially those with Halloween parties to attend in Lan Kwai Fong. Halloween carving, not so much. Trick-or-treating is also a little more difficult to carry out, as most people here reside in apartments. However, Ocean Park and Hong Kong Disneyland are popular places for those seeking entertainment, as they set up haunted houses that run for most of the month till the 31st. All in all, Halloween is a pretty commercialized event in Hong Kong.
Ghost Month and Ghost Festival
Ghost Month, literally “鬼月” (gui yue), is the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which usually corresponds the period from mid-August to mid-September on the Western calendar. As its name suggests, it’s a time where restless spirits — particularly those that weren’t afforded proper funeral rights — take leave from Hell in order to roam the human world, looking to entertain themselves in mischievous means, especially dark in the night. By the 30th day, the spirits will depart as the gates of Hell close once more, but until then, there’s plenty for the Chinese people to do. In order to stave off these unwanted guests, they would leave out food and joss sticks offerings on the road, and burning paper money for the dead. Such acts are respectful towards the dead, and would ensure that a person would remain safe from harassment from the spirits.
Apart from things to do, there are also things that one must not do during this time. This includes being careful to not disturb the food offerings, avoiding staying out at night, avoiding red and black clothing as those colours attract ghosts, avoiding swimming as ghosts of a drowned spirit might pull you under, among many other traditions. It’s considered inauspicious to commit any of these activities during this time.
Ghost Festival takes place on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. In 2018, this was the 25th of August, a Saturday. The festival is known by several names, as “鬼节” is the transliteration of “Ghost Festival”, while “中元节” for “Zhongyuan Festival” is the Taoist tradition, and “盂兰节” for “Yu Lan Festival” is the Buddhist tradition. In Hong Kong, the Chiu Chao community is most active in celebrating this date, organizing festivities in public parks as both celebration and spirit-honouring ritual. Activities include music performances, games, and more. Like Halloween however, Ghost Festival isn’t recognized as a public holiday either.
Do you come from a culture that also celebrates the dead? Tell us all about it in the comments section! Meanwhile, check out our Chinese language course list for a chance to learn about culture from professional institutions based in China!