Friday, June 22, 2012

Hungry Ghost Festival

China Blog Daily has an enticing article urging us to visit China in July for the Hungry Ghost Festival. The Chinese have the most fabulous, lyrical names for their festivals. Who could resist the Blue Dragon Festival, or the Clear and Bright Festival? The names alone promise great things.

According to the article (linked below), "Chinese traditionalists believe that this is a Ghost Month where the gates of hell are opened. Activities to keep the evil away include shouting, screaming, and whistling. It is also very important to stay away from water, it is believed that souls of the damned lie in the water waiting to pull you under. Halfway through the Ghost Month, large parties are thrown to please the spirits."

So, if you feel the need to shout, scream, or whistle in July you can attribute it to your desire to keep evil away. Also, the Chinese may be onto something in their warnings to stay away from water, at least in July. Though we on the Gulf Coast have lots of beautiful shoreline to tempt us in to water, it might not hurt to rethink that, especially given the often dangerous rip currents.

http://oncekids.blogspot.fr/2012/06/hungry-ghost-festival-visit-asia-this.html

- Peggy


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