Ghost Festival

Dear Child-2-bees,

Last night, the family celebrated "Ghost Festival." I didn't even know it had a name. Every year, on this day, which happens to coincidentally occur a day after great grandma's birthday, we celebrate and worship your ancestors or the dead.  While many people honor their most recent ancestors, some celebrate their whole family lineage. This holiday occurs on the 15th day in the 7th month of the Lunar calendar.  It is observed by mainly Buddhists and Taoists.

 Many of the things used during this celebration can be found in one aisle in an Asian supermarket or a specialty store that sells specifically things for this purpose and funeral services. My family buys special wax candles that sit on a stick so that you can stick it into something and let it stand on its own. The candles are red of course, the symbol for "Good Luck!" Grandma likes to buy these thin square paper with a shiny silver or gold foil in the center. We usually sit down for a few hours and fold them into boats or other shapes. The theory is that since "yuan bao,"  the ancient Chinese currency was greater than any paper currency used, folding the flat paper into a "yuan bao" shape would increase its value.  We also burn incense, sticks of 3 per ancestor. I am not sure why the number three, but I have always burned incense in set of 3 and bowed three times holding them.

 We also burn paper money. This bills look like our currency.  They are green, thin and about the same size as U.S. dollar bills. Depending on where you buy these, they will say either "Heaven Bank Note" or "Hell Bank Note." I am not sure if both as the same or if people believe one over the other.  My relatives believe in just an after life or spiritual realm where all your loved ones go.

To start the festive activities, we write your ancestor's name on one of the note, light it on fire and start burning. This year, since so many family members were away, it was just Grandpa, Grandma, Grand Uncle Tom, Uncle Jeremy and Mommy burning paper money. Grandma always insists on distributing the paper money evenly to avoid any Heaven disputes. We light three incense for each ancestor and bow three times to pay your respects. Afterwards, we start burning all the paper money designated for that member while saying messages to them, recalling stories and memories of them and wishing them well for this upcoming year.

As the paper is burning, the flame evolves. Some believe that this indicated your ancestors' ghosts trying to communicate with you. I was taught that a large and powerful flame is good.

 By the 2nd ancestor's ritual, I was sweating. The flame was big and strong and it was so very hot! Uncle Jeremy made jokes about the flame being so hot that he thought it burned off part of his eyebrows and arm hair. Now that's funny!

Child-2-bees, Sleep tight and don't let the ghosts bite!


Love Always,
Mommie-2-bees