Tracing back to folk customs and sacrifices.

The fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the Mid-Autumn Festival and the legendary Ghost Festival.

As far as Mid-Autumn Festival is concerned, I only know that it is one of the eight traditional folk festivals in China, but I know little about its formation, development and evolution. Why is it also called "Ghost Festival"? Years ago, I was really ignorant. After I went out of the mountains to study, I was puzzled by the colorful Ming coins sold by many merchants and shops every July of the lunar calendar. Because the hometown people in the deep mountains have never had the custom of offering sacrifices in July of the lunar calendar.

I learned that the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the legendary Ghost Festival, and it started when my wife got married. Every year on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, my wife will buy some paper money more or less, and go with my sisters to pay homage to my second sister who died early because of illness. My wife can't say a few words about the origin of Halloween. In fact, every year on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, in many places in the south of Shanxi, people always carry sacrifices and bring coins sold in paper flower shops or shoes, hats and clothes stuck with paper to the graves of their deceased relatives for burning and offering sacrifices.

Tracing back to the source is a common problem of people who love words, and I am no exception. Why did the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month become a folk ghost festival? It has become a puzzle that I have never understood in my heart.

"Iron shoes are everywhere, and they are effortless." Really fulfilled the old saying. The town where I work is the famous hometown of Guan Gong. Not far from the unit, there is a Guandi Temple, which is the best preserved and largest at home and abroad. In the square in front of the temple, some people often dress strangely and tell fortune for tourists. Tell me about the origin of "Ghost Festival", which is one of the fortune tellers with goatee and high bun. Of course, whether what the old man said is correct or not, I have been verified in the network.

It turns out that the Ghost Festival originated from the legend of a Buddhist story "Mulian saves the mother" that has been circulated since the Western Jin Dynasty: It is said that Mulian's mother, Mrs. Qingti, is very rich, but she is particularly stingy and greedy, while her son Mulian is very considerate and filial. When her son is away, her mother slaughters livestock every day and indulges in it. She never cares about her son and never practices kindness. After her mother died, she was sent to the underworld and was severely punished. Mulian went to hell to see her suffering mother in order to save her mother from becoming a monk and gain magical powers. Mu Lian couldn't bear it, but with her mother's sins before her death, she couldn't walk out of the hungry ghost road. The food she gave turned into charcoal before it reached her mouth. Mu Lian was helpless and sad, so he had to ask the Buddha for help. The Buddha was moved by his filial piety. On July 15th, the Buddha taught Manglietia to set up an Orchid Society to support his mother with the help of ten monks. Manglietia was inspired by the Buddha, so there was a Buddhist story of standing on July 15 to support ten monks to turn over. Manglietia's mother can eat and enter this world. She becomes a dog. Manglietia went on training for seven days and seven nights, so that her mother got rid of the dog and entered heaven. Buddhists hold a grand "Bonsai Festival" every July 15 to commemorate the filial piety of Manglietia. Later, in constant circulation, people called the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month the day when the gates of hell opened wide. On this day, ghosts in the underworld can stay in the dead for one day, including some ghosts who can accept sacrifices from people in the dead, so it is also called Ghost Festival. Today, in most areas, ancestor worship is held on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month every year, and paper boats are tied, fruits are offered, paper money, clothes and things are burned for the dead. This Buddhist sutra has been handed down from generation to generation.

In fact, among the folk festivals in China, Tomb-Sweeping Day is the most important festival to worship ancestors and sweep graves. Therefore, Tomb-Sweeping Day is also called "Ghost Festival" in many places in China. It is said that the origin of Tomb-Sweeping Day began with the "grave-sweeping" ceremony of the ancient emperor. According to records, in ancient China, "tombs were not graves", that is to say, only graves were dug, and no graves were built, so there was no way to offer sacrifices to sweep them. Later, graves and graves, the custom of offering sacrifices to sweep graves, were supported. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, offering sacrifices to tombs has become an indispensable custom. "Once"? The Book of Ming Di quoted the official etiquette of the Han Dynasty as saying: "In ancient times, there was no tomb sacrifice, and Qin Shihuang slept next to the tomb, so Han remained unchanged. All tombs serve meals with gloom, hope, 24, dog days, society, wax and four o'clock. " The emperor is almost a festival. Ordinary officials and ordinary people don't have so much time and money, so Tomb-Sweeping Day gradually freezes in the 24 solar terms. At that time, the government will allow officials to take time off to offer sacrifices to sweep, and the people will also "go to their parents' graves for fields and roads, full of scholars and women, humble servants and beggars." "In the Tang Dynasty, the sacrificial sweeping has combined cold food with Qingming, and it is spring, so you can go to the grave with wine in your hand. Tomb-Sweeping Day is not only a ghost festival for sacrifice, but also a day for people to go hiking and have fun.

The fortune teller also explained the rationality of two traditional folk customs "Ghost Festival" from the secular and folk perspectives. Tomb-Sweeping Day's "Ghost Festival" coincides with the melting of snow and ice in the north. After the rain in autumn and winter and the melting of snow and ice in winter, some soil on the grave was washed down and became shorter and smaller. Tomb-Sweeping Day sweeps graves and adds some soil to prevent the ancestors' houses from leaking and getting wet, while the "Ghost Festival" of the Mid-Autumn Festival is that beginning of autumn has passed and the weather is getting colder.

It seems vulgar to pay homage to ancestors and deceased relatives on Ghost Festival and burn some paper money for deceased relatives. In fact, it contains rich moral and ethical connotations, which is a kind of gratitude and nostalgia for the deceased relatives and a kind of communication for the ancestors. When burning paper on the grave, say a few words to help the living achieve a psychological balance and find a spiritual sustenance.

As descendants of the Chinese people, it is understandable to inherit this folk culture. However, in recent years, with the improvement of people's living standards, after Tomb-Sweeping Day was designated as a national statutory holiday, the traditional folk custom of offering sacrifices to the Ghost Festival gradually became more and more fierce. Every year on July 15, the sacrificial paper burning supplies on the street are piled up in front of the store. There are many kinds of food, clothing, housing, transportation and use, including refrigerators, color TVs, small buildings and cars. It is full of modern goods. Ming coins are also bundled, beautifully printed, no less than real RMB, with a huge face value, hundreds of millions and billions at a time, which is amazing! Burning so many "things" and so much "money" can really bring the rich days of the underworld to the deceased relatives? I'm afraid no one can know. However, the pain brought to the living by carelessness is visible. In recent years, forest fires have caused great pollution to the environment and are everywhere.

Did our ancestors have paper money to burn at the beginning of the ritual custom? Everything in any nation can't be separated from the inheritance law of "taking its essence and discarding its dross", and so is the ghost festival sacrifice. As a unique traditional custom of our Chinese nation, it is indispensable to pay homage to and remember our ancestors at any time. However, can we learn from foreigners and use flowers instead of burning paper money to express our memory and nostalgia for our deceased relatives?

Ghost Festival is coming again. I wonder how many banknotes will disappear with the wind this year?