Whats the story behind the Hungry Ghost Festival?
I’m assuming this refers to the Ghost Festival (中元節) on Month 7 day 14-15 of the Chinese lunar calendar. The entire seventh month is often referred to as the Ghost Month (鬼月). It is a time when many believe the ghosts from the underworld come to haunt the world. In modern times, most try to avoid misfortune by appeasing the ghosts in various ways, such as burning fake money, making sacrifices of food, burning incense, and other things. Most will not get married and avoid having children around this supposedly inauspicious time (paradoxically, the Qixi 七夕 festival, a traditional lover’s day in Chinese culture, occurs during the month). Semi-traditional folks from all over the Chinese world, especially southeast Asia, pay particular attention to the ghost month and live life cautiously during this time. As for the real story, however, nobody knows the true origins of the Ghost month and the Ghost Festival. One theory is that its origins are in Buddhism. The Buddhist theory goes like this
