Halloween And Chinese Hungry Ghost Day

Halloween falls on November 11, right on tomorrow, so are you well-prepared of pumpkin lights and candies for naughty kids?

Lovely-made pumpkin lights, different from what i've seen before

It seems that every nation has her own totem or worship, besides the three main religions wide spread all over the world. For instance, snacks for the Indians, lions for the British, wolves for the Mongolian, dragons for the Han nationality......and each nation or nationality has her own way to celebrate and idolize their gods. After all, whatever the totem is, they pray for peace and safety.

As for the Halloween, the tales of its origin go like that the locals deliberately dress in shabby clothes and darken the house to trick the ghosts, thus making ghosts unwilling to get close to them. Nowadays, the most well-known motto for the Halloween may be "trick or treat" of naughty kids, interesting and lovely, right?

Halloween candies for kids

In terms of Han nationality in China, Hungry Ghost Festival bears almost the same ideology with the Halloween, originated from the Liang Dynasty (502-557 A.D.) while at the same time, it connotates more significance for the Chinese, it is not only a day for getting rid of ghosts, but also a day for commemorating ancestors. It falls on the 15 of the seventh month according to Chinese lunar calendar, floating river lights, temple fair and some other customs are commonly seen on such a day.

Chinese style for celebrating Hungry Ghost Festival

Well, it is fantastic that long long ago before the exchange of culture and ideas between us, our ancestors share the same knowledge and belief in creating such a festival. Interesting and wonderful, isn't it?