Have you heard of the Hungry Ghost Festival? | the hungry ghost festival
(BinsarBakkara/APPhoto)OnAugust12th,BuddhistandTaoistcommunitiesaroundtheworldwillholdtheirownHungryGhostFestival. Soundspooky?Itis!Thewholeseventhmonthofthelunarcalendarisactuallycalled“GhostMonth”.It’sbelievedthatthegatesoftheafterlifeopenandallowspiritstoroamtheEarth.It’saveryhauntedholiday.But,theHungryGhostFestivalisalsoacelebrationtohonourancestorsandrelatives.TheoriginstoryTheBuddhahelpedMulian’smotherinthestory.(IsharaS.Kodikara/AFP/GettyImages)TheoriginoftheHungryGhostFestivalcomesf...
(Binsar Bakkara/AP Photo)
On August 12th, Buddhist and Taoist communities around the world will hold their own Hungry Ghost Festival.
Sound spooky? It is! The whole seventh month of the lunar calendar is actually called “Ghost Month”. It’s believed that the gates of the afterlife open and allow spirits to roam the Earth.
It’s a very haunted holiday. But, the Hungry Ghost Festival is also a celebration to honour ancestors and relatives.
The origin storyThe Buddha helped Mulian’s mother in the story. (Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images)
The origin of the Hungry Ghost Festival comes from a very old story from ancient China.
In the story, a monk named Mulian asks the Buddha to help his mother in the afterlife. Mulian’s mother was very hungry. But because she was a ghost, she couldn’t eat!
Buddha tells Mulian to make offerings of food and new robes to the monks instead. Thankful for the gift, the monks pray for...