Spooky Chinese Festivals You Should Know.
Spooky Chinese Festivals You Should Know.
Blog Article
Hungry Ghost Festival
Just like in the Western world we have Halloween as the festival to remember and celebrate the dead, in China, there’s the Hungry Ghost festival.
The Hungry Ghost festival is held on the 15th day of the 7th month of the Lunar Chinese calendar, which is around August-September in the Gregorian calendar.
According to Chinese legend, this is the time when the gates of the underworld open, so spirits and ghouls would be unleashed from hell. During this time the spirits from the afterlife will feast, and so this festival is held so that we—the living— can entertain the spirits by offering foods, burn incense, sticks, fake paper money, and so on. It is believed that by entertaining the ghosts, we can safely avoid their wraths.
Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhōngqiū Jié) is considered the second-most important of all the major Chinese festivals, only second to the Chinese New Year.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is held every 15th day of the 8th Month of the traditional Chinese calendar, which as the name suggests, is in the midst of Autumn in China. In the Gregorian calendar, this festival happens around September or October.
This period is typically when the moon will shine the fullest and the brightest each year, and is also a time when the crops will be harvested. So, this festival is also celebrated to commemorate the bountiful harvests.
A very important tradition for this festival is eating the famous mooncakes, typically in the form of round pastries around 4” (10 cm) in diameter and 1 ¼ to 1.5” (3-4 cm) in thickness, filled with a rich think filling made from lotus seed paste or red bean paste. This is also why this festival is also popularly known as the Mooncake Festival.
Chung Yeung Festival also called the Double Ninth Festival
The Chung Yeung Festival, also known as Autumn Remembrance, is held every 9th day of the 9th month of the traditional Chinese calendar, this is also why it’s often called the Double Ninth Festival. In the Gregorian calendar, this festival is celebrated around October.
This festival is not only celebrated in China but also in Japan (known as Chōyō or the Chrysanthemum Festival), and Korea (known as Jungyangjeol).
If any of these sound amazing and you're considering participating, you should definitely get the China eSim, your reliable partner for all connection needs.