Ghost Festival is a customary Chinese festivity celebrated by the Chinese who live in various countries. This traditional Festival takes place on the 15th hour of darkness on the 7th month of the Lunar Calendar. This day of the 7th Lunar month is known as the Ghost day among the Chinese. It is believed that the ghosts, spirits and the departed relations rise up from their graves and visit the living on this night.

 The Buddhists and Taoists would carry out peace offering rituals to absolve and to change the distress of the deceased. The whole month would be dedicated to help the departed in coming out from the misery they are facing by offering incense, fine food, clothes, gold and other material.  The meals served are normally vegetarian meals reserving an empty space in a chair for the deceased relative treating the same way when they were living. It is believed that this tradition originated through the scriptures coming forth through Buddhism, but most of the visible rituals carried on have originated from the folks traditions.

The month of the Ghost Festival is a month of joy and celebration and a day of cheer for the monks. As a ritual, they float away and bury lanterns and tiny paper boats. On the month of the ancestors there are three significant days. It is on the first day of the month that the ghosts are offered with food, sweet meats and paper money are burnt so that the spirits can use them. On the last day of the month the spirits are sent back to the underworld with priests chanting and informing the spirits that it is time to leave.


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