The traditional festival "Zhongyuan Festival" comes from one of the three Yuans, namely the upper, middle and lower Yuan. The three Yuans correspond to heaven, earth and water respectively. The ancients said that the "Heavenly Official bestows blessings" on the Upper Yuan Festival, the "Earthly Official pardons sins" on the Zhongyuan Festival, and the "Water Official relieves disasters" on the Lower Yuan Festival. Interpreting the literal meaning, it is not difficult to see that this is a series of festivals with the theme of "eliminating suffering, praying for blessings and helping fortune".

Why is the Zhongyuan Festival so special? First of all, it’s because of the time.

The Zhongyuan Festival begins on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month (some areas also have the 14th day of the seventh lunar month). "Seven" is a very special number for the Chinese nation. It is a variable, a yang number, and a heavenly number in the Book of Changes. It represents the mysterious principle of the alternation and repetition of yin and yang (the Book of Changes says: "Repeating its way, returning every seven days, is the way of heaven."). Therefore, since ancient times, people like to use "seven" to summarize everything quantitatively, such as "seven stars, seven rhythms, seven orifices, seven emotions, seven colors", etc., including the life cycle of a person, which is divided by seven. Education begins at the age of seven, puberty begins at the age of fourteen, and the body is fully mature at the age of twenty-one...

Therefore, the Ghost Festival, as a festival for praying for blessings and worshiping ancestors, is even more mysterious in July.

The second special feature of the Ghost Festival is the combination of multiple festivals

For example, the "Earth God's Zhongyuan Festival pardons sins" mentioned above is a Taoist definition. Buddhism calls the 15th day of the seventh lunar month the "Yulanpen Festival", and the theme of folk customs is ancestor worship. Although the three customs were later merged into one and basically indistinguishable from each other, many regions still celebrate them according to their own customs. For example, in Japan, the 15th day of the seventh lunar month is celebrated as the Yulanpen Festival, which is a major festival second only to New Year's Day, with the specifications of a small holiday; North Korea's Zhongyuan Festival has more "ethnic and agricultural characteristics", and is also called the "Hundred Festivals", with a strong desire for a good harvest; Southeast Asians like to entertain during the Zhongyuan Festival; China has a rich "ghost culture" for this, and it is widely called the "Ghost Festival." If there is any connection, the only common point in all regions is "ancestor worship". No matter what program is there, we must talk about ancestor worship first, and then talk about entertainment.

In other words, no matter which family's rules are followed, the main theme of "worshiping ancestors and respecting ancestors" cannot be separated.

So when we talk about Zhongyuan Festival, we think of "Ghost Festival". There is no need to think about it. Respecting ancestors and being filial are the most important things.
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