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{{Short description|Traditional Buddhist and Taoist festival}}
{{About|the Chinese festival and its related traditions|the festival in the Thai province of Loei|Phi Ta Khon|the festival in Nepal|Ghost Festival (Nepal)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2011}}
{{stack begin}}
{{Infobox holiday
| holiday_name  = Ghost Festival
| image         = HK ShatinYuLanFestival KingOfGhost.JPG
| imagesize     = 
| caption       = A paper effigy of the [[Guanyin]] in [[Shatin]], Hong Kong.
| official_name = {{ubl|Zhongyuan Festival ([[Taoism]])|Yulanpen Festival ([[Buddhism]])}}
| nickname      = Spirit Festival
| observedby    = [[Buddhists]] <br> [[Taoists]]
| litcolor      = 
| longtype      = 
| significance  = To commemorate the opening of the gates of [[Hell]] and Heaven, and spiritual realm permitting all spirits and souls to receive sustenance, money, and other offerings.
| begins        = 
| ends          = 
| date          = 15th day of the 7th Chinese lunisolar month
| date{{LASTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=last|cite=no}}
| date{{CURRENTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=current|cite=no}}
| date{{NEXTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=next|cite=no}}
| date{{NEXTYEAR|2}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=next2|cite=no}}
| celebrations  = 
| observances   = [[Ancestor worship]], offering food, burning [[joss paper]], chanting of scriptures
| relatedto     = {{Plain list|
* [[Bon Festival|Obon]] <small>(in Japan)</small>
* [[Miryang Baekjung Festival|Baekjung]] <small>(in Korea)</small>
* [[Vu Lan]] <small>(in Vietnam)</small>
* [[Pchum Ben]] (observed by [[Khmer people]]) and [[Sen Kbal tek]], សែនក្បាលទឹក (observed by Chinese-Cambodians) <small>(in Cambodia)</small>
* [[#Laos|Boun Khao Padap Din]] <small>(in Laos)</small>
* [[#Sri Lanka|Mataka dānēs]] <small>(in Sri Lanka)</small>
* [[Sat Thai]] <small>(in Thailand)</small>
}}
| type          = 
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| pic = Image:Ancestor worship003.JPG
| piccap = Food offerings for the Ghost Festival
| t = {{linktext|中元節}}
| s = {{linktext|中元节}}
| p = zhōng yuán jié
| l = mid-origin festival
| w = chung yüan<sup>2</sup> chieh<sup>2</sup>
| bpmf = ㄓㄨㄥ ㄩㄢˊㄐㄧㄝˊ
| myr = jūng ywán jyé
| poj = Tiong-goân-cheh / Tiong-goân-choeh / Tiong-goân-chiat
| tl = Tiong-guân-tseh / Tiong-guân-tsueh / Tiong-guân-tsiat
| teo = Dong<sup>1</sup> nguêng<sup>5</sup>/nguang<sup>5</sup> zoih<sup>4</sup>
| buc = Dṳ̆ng-nguòng-cáik
| y = jūng yùhn jit
| j = zung<sup>1</sup> jyun<sup>4</sup> zit<sup>3</sup>
| phfs = Chûng-ngièn-chiet
| t2 = {{linktext|盂蘭盆節}}
| s2 = {{linktext|盂兰盆节}}
| p2 = Yú lán pén jié
| w2 = {{tone superscript|yü2 lan2 p'ên2 chieh2}}
| bpmf2 = ㄩˊㄌㄢˊㄆㄣˊㄐㄧㄝˊ
| myr2 = yú-lán-pén-jyé
| buc2 = Uò-làng-buòng
| y2 = yùh làahn pùhn jit
| j2 = {{tone superscript|jyu4 laan4 pun4 zit3}}
| c3 = {{linktext|七月半}}
| poj3 = Chhit-goe̍h-poàⁿ
| tl3 = Tshit-gue̍h-puànn
| teo3 = Cig<sup>4</sup> ghuêh<sup>8</sup> buan<sup>3</sup>
| phfs3 = Chhit-ngie̍t-pan
}}
{{Chinese Buddhism}}
{{Chinese folk religion}}
{{stack end}}
The '''Ghost Festival''' or '''Hungry Ghost Festival''', also known as the '''Zhongyuan Festival''' in [[Taoism]] and the '''Yulanpen Festival''' in [[Buddhism]], is a traditional festival held in certain [[East Asia|East]] and [[Southeast Asian]] countries. According to the [[Chinese calendar|traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar]], the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in parts of southern China).<ref>{{cite web|title=Zhongyuan festival|url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/olympic/211929.htm|website=China.org.cn|publisher=China Internet Information Center|access-date=1 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019082154/http://www.china.org.cn/english/olympic/211929.htm|archive-date=October 19, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Chow 2015">Chow 2015</ref>{{rp|4,6}}{{refn|group=note|Chow, page 4, quoting 1783 Qianlong era "Annals of Guishan County" ({{lang|zh|歸善縣志}}) Scroll 15 - Customs:<br>'{{lang|zh|鬼節原是農曆七月十五，但元末明初之際，有言客家為了躲避元兵，提前一日過節，以便南下走難，自此鬼節就變成七月十四，流傳至今。}}'<br>English translation:<br>'The Ghost Festival originally was on the 15th day of the 7th month in the Chinese calendar, but during the late [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] to early [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] period, it's said that the [[Hakka]]s in order to escape the Yuan troops, celebrated the Ghost Festival one day earlier, in order to escape disaster they fled southward.  Since that time and continuing today, the date of the Ghost Festival changed to the 14th day of the 7th [lunisolar] month' [in parts of Southern China].}}

In [[Chinese culture]], the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the traditional Chinese calendar is called '''Ghost Day''' or (especially in Taiwan) '''Pudu''' ({{lang-zh|c=普渡|poj=Phó͘-tō͘|s=|t=|p=Pǔdù}})<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-08-22 |title=Ghost Festival |url=https://oftaiwan.org/culture/ghost-festival/ |access-date=2024-02-15 |website=OFTaiwan |language=en}}</ref> and the seventh month is generally regarded as the '''Ghost Month''', in which ghosts and spirits, including those of deceased ancestors, come out from the [[Underworld|lower realm]] (''[[Diyu]]'' or ''[[Preta]]''). Distinct from both the [[Qingming Festival]] (or Tomb Sweeping Day, in spring) and [[Double Ninth Festival]] (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, during Ghost Festival, the deceased are believed to visit the living.<ref>{{cite news|title=Culture insider - China's ghost festival|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2014-08/08/content_18268375.htm|access-date=1 November 2017|publisher=China Daily|date=8 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107003946/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2014-08/08/content_18268375.htm|archive-date=November 7, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open, and both [[Taoists]] and [[Buddhists]] would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is [[veneration of the dead]], where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths. Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning [[incense]], and burning [[joss paper]], a [[papier-mâché]] form of material items such as clothes, gold, and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors. Elaborate meals (often vegetarian) would be served with empty seats for each of the deceased in the family, treating the deceased as if they are still living. Ancestor worship is what distinguishes Qingming Festival from Ghost Festival, because the latter includes paying respects to all deceased, including the same and younger generations, while the former only includes older generations. Other festivities may include [[Papier-mache offering shops in Hong Kong|buying]] and releasing miniature paper boats and [[lantern]]s on water, which signifies giving directions to the lost ghosts and spirits of the ancestors and other deities.<ref>{{cite news|title=Chinese Ghost Festival - "the Chinese Halloween"|url=http://en.people.cn/90002/98669/98755/6798883.html|access-date=1 November 2017|publisher=Peoples Daily (English)|date=30 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107024410/http://en.people.cn/90002/98669/98755/6798883.html|archive-date=November 7, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Origins==
<!-- This section and the next could benefit from including more from the Hungry ghost article. -->
[[File:Moggallana saves his mother.jpg|thumb|left|A Chinese wood cut of Mulian asking the Buddha to save his mother, who has turned into a hungry ghost from hell.]]
{{Main|Hungry ghost|Petavatthu|Yulanpen Sutra|Mulian Rescues His Mother}}
The name relates to the concept of the [[hungry ghost]], the Chinese translation of the term ''[[preta]]'' in [[Buddhism]]. It plays a role in [[Chinese Buddhism]] and [[Taoism]] as well as in [[Chinese folk religion]], and represents beings who were originally living people, who have died, and who are driven by intense emotional needs in an [[Animals in Buddhism|animalistic]] way.<ref name="sixteen">Venerable Yin-shun. ''The Way to Buddhahood''. Massachusetts: Wisdom Publications: 1998.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bfnn.org/book/article2/1323.htm|title=目次：冥報記白話|website=www.bfnn.org|access-date=February 25, 2023|archive-date=December 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204134835/http://www.bfnn.org/book/article2/1323.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="eleven">Eberhard, Stephen F. ''The Ghost Festival in Medieval China''. New Jersey: Princeton University Press: 1988. Hungry ghosts, by contrast, are a much more exceptional case, and would only occur in very unfortunate circumstances, such as if a whole family were killed or when a family no longer venerated their ancestors.</ref>

As a Taoist festival: Taoism has the "Three Yuan" theory (representing the [[Three Great Emperor-Officials]]), which the name "Zhong Yuan" comes from.<ref name="中國節日的故事 2001">{{cite book |title=中國節日的故事 |date=2001 |publisher=將門文物出版社 |location=Taipei |isbn=957-755-300-1 |edition=1st |language=zh}}</ref>{{refpage|195–196}} The festival flourished during the [[Tang dynasty]], whose rulers were partial to Taoism; and "Zhongyuan" became well established as the holiday's name.<ref>{{cite news |title=中元节是中国的"鬼节"吗？听听民俗学家怎么说 |url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1369046 |access-date=26 March 2023 |work=澎湃新闻 |archive-date=March 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326023745/https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1369046 |url-status=live }}</ref>

As a Buddhist festival: The origin story of the modern Ghost Festival, ultimately originated from [[ancient India]], deriving from the [[Mahayana Buddhism|Mahayana]] [[Buddhist scripture|scripture]] known as the [[Yulanpen Sutra|Yulanpen or Ullambana Sutra]].<ref name="Karashima 2013a">Karashima 2013a</ref>{{rp|301,302}}{{refn|group=note|Karashima:<br>On p.&nbsp;302 'Although this sutra has often been regarded as apocryphal [Japanese version has in recent times], the contents and ideas in it are well rooted in India as we have seen above.  In addition to that, the vocabulary and usage of Chinese words are more archaic, compared with Kumārajīva's corpus (401-413 CE), while they resemble greatly the translations by Dharmarakṣa (fl. 265?-311 CE).  Moreover, the transliteration {{lang|zh|鉢和羅}} (EH pat γwa la > MC pwât γwâ lâ} of Skt. pravāra (ṇā), which only occurs in this sutra and its adaptation, i.e. the ''Baoen Fengpen jing'' {{lang|zh|報恩奉盆經}} (T. 16, no. 686, 780a20), indicates clearly that this sutra is not apocryphal but a genuine translation, because only somebody who knew the original Indian form was able to transliterate it thus correctly into Chinese. In conclusion, I assume that [<-preceding 3 words missing in Japanese version] this sutra is not apocryphal, but a translation from an Indian text translated by Dharmarakṣa or somebody else in pre-Kumārajīva times [Japanese version has 3rd to 4th century CE]. [c.f. p 189 for equivalent in Japanese version]<br>c.f. p 301 for derivation of Yulan from Middle Indic (Gandhari) *olana.}} The sutra records the time when [[Maudgalyāyana]] achieves [[abhijñā]] and uses his newfound powers to search for his deceased parents.  Maudgalyayana discovers that his deceased mother was reborn into the [[preta]] or hungry ghost realm.  She was in a wasted condition and Maudgalyayana tried to help her by giving her a bowl of rice.  Unfortunately as a preta, she was unable to eat the rice as it was transformed into burning coal.  Maudgalyayana then asks the Buddha to help him; whereupon Buddha explains how one is able to assist one's current parents and deceased parents in this life and in one's past seven lives by willingly offering food, etc., to the [[sangha]] or monastic community during [[Pravarana]] (the end of the monsoon season or [[vassa]]), which usually occurs on the 15th day of the seventh month whereby the monastic community transfers the merits to the deceased parents, etc.,<ref name="Karashima 2013b">Karashima 2013b</ref>{{rp|185}}{{refn|group=note|Karashima:<br>'{{lang|ja|東アジアの盂蘭盆と東南アジアのワン・オ一クパンサーなどは、いずれも、釈尊の時代に規定された様に七月十五日の自恣の日を祝っているのだが（日本ではこのことはすでに意識されていない）、東南アジアでは古代インドの暦に基づいて行われるのに対し、東アジアでは、中国の太陰暦に従っているので、ニケ月の差があり、これらが同一の行事ということに気付く人は少ない。}}'<br>English Translation:<br>'Both the East Asian Urabon [Yulanpen] and Southeast Asian Wan Ok Phansa [Thai name for Pravāraṇā] are celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month, the day of Pravāraṇā just as it was promulgated in Lord Buddha's time (in Japan, this matter is not known to people). In Southeast Asian countries, they use the ancient Indian calendar [or [[Buddhist calendar]]] as opposed to East Asian countries where they use the [[Chinese calendar]].  As there is a two month difference between the two calendars, few people realized that the two are [in fact] the same event.'}}<ref name="Karashima 2013a" />{{rp|293}}{{refn|group=note|Karashima:<br>Pravāraṇā (Pāli Pavāraṇā) zizi {{lang|zh|自恣}} and suiyi {{lang|zh|隨意}} in Chinese, is a ceremony held at the end of the three-month rainy season retreat [also called vassa] by Buddhist monks.  In Theravada Buddhism and in Nepal, it was and is still held on the full moon day of the seventh or eight month. i.e. Āśvina (September–October) or Kārttika (October–November) respectively.}}<ref name="Karashima 2014">Karashima 2014</ref>{{rp|286}}{{refn|group=note|Karashima:<br>{{lang|zh|'對佛教徒來說，自古印度年曆（元旦相當於公曆三月中至四月中）四月十五日（公曆六至七月）或五月十五日（公曆七至八月）開始的三個月是雨安居。直至今天，西藏、尼泊爾、東南亞地區的僧人依然在此期間行雨安居。這一習俗也傳到沒有雨季的中國大陸中原地域，年曆和數字被原封不動地保留下來，但由印度年曆變為中國太陰曆。在中國、日本、朝鮮半島等東亞地區，雨安居從陰曆四月（公曆五月）開始，持續三個月。}}'<br>English Translation: 'From the Buddhist viewpoint, based on the Ancient Indian calendar [or Buddhist calendar] (New Years is in the middle of March to the middle of April [in the Gregorian calendar]) the 15th day of the fourth month [Āṣāḍha] (June to July [in the Gregorian calendar]) or the 15th day of the fifth month [Śrāvaṇa] (July to August [in Gregorian calendar]) is the start of three month period called vassa.  From ancient times to even today, the monastic community of Tibet, Nepal and Southeast Asia still follow this schedule to observe vassa. This custom was also transmitted to China which does not have a rainy season, the calendar and dates preserved unchanged from the original but instead of using the ancient Indian calendar, the lunisolar Chinese calendar is used. In China, Japan, the Korean peninsula and other East Asian regions, vassa starts on the fourth month of the lunisolar Chinese calendar (May (in the Gregorian calendar) and lasts 3 months.' [n.b. Since the start of vassa is fixed in East Asia in the fourth month, Pravāraṇā is also fixed to the 15th day of the seventh month].}}

The [[Theravada]]n forms of the festival in [[South Asia|South]] and [[Southeast Asia]] (including [[Cambodia]]'s [[Pchum Ben]]) are much older, deriving from the [[Petavatthu]], a [[Buddhist scripture|scripture]] in the [[Pali Canon]] that probably dates to the 3rd{{nbsp}}century{{nbsp}}BC.<ref name=lange>{{harvp|Langer|2007|p=276}}.</ref> The Petavatthu account is broadly similar to that later recorded in the [[Yulanpen Sutra]], although it concerns the disciple [[Sāriputta]] and his family rather than [[Moggallāna]].

==Observance==
[[Image:Chinese floating lotus lanterns.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Chinese lotus lanterns floating in a river.]]
The Ghost Festival is held during the seventh month of the [[Chinese calendar]]. It also falls at the same time as a full moon, the new season, the fall harvest, the peak of Buddhist monastic asceticism, the rebirth of ancestors, and the assembly of the local community.<ref name="eight">{{harvp|Teiser|1988}}.</ref> During this month, the gates of [[Diyu|hell]] are opened up and ghosts are free to roam the earth where they seek food and entertainment. These ghosts are believed to be spirits of those without descendants (or, traditionally, without descendants in the male line) or whose descendants did not pay tribute to them after they died.<ref name="Eberhard Chinese Festivals The Feast of the Souls">{{cite book |last1=Eberhard |first1=Wolfram |author-link1=Wolfram Eberhard |title=Chinese Festivals |date=1952 |publisher=H. Wolff |location=New York |pages=129–133 |chapter=The Feast of the Souls}}</ref><ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Ghost Festival"/> They are desperately hungry, thirsty, and restless as a result.<ref name="Eberhard Chinese Festivals The Feast of the Souls"/><ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Ghost Festival"/> Family members offer food and drink to the ghosts and burn [[hell bank note]]s and other forms of [[joss paper]].<ref name="three">"Hungry Ghost Festival". Essortment, 2002. Retrieved 20 October 2008. [http://www.essortment.com/all/hungryghostfes_opi.htm Essortment Articles.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223182908/http://www.essortment.com/all/hungryghostfes_opi.htm |date=February 23, 2009 }}</ref> Joss paper items are believed to have value in the afterlife, considered to be very similar in some aspects to the material world. Families pay tribute to wandering ghosts of strangers so that these homeless souls do not intrude on their lives and bring misfortune. A large feast is held for the ghosts on the day of the ghost festival or thereabouts, when people bring samples of food and place them on an altar or outside a temple or house, to please the ghosts and ward off bad luck.<ref name="Stepanchuk Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts Ghost Festival">{{cite book |last1=Stepanchuk |first1=Carol |title=Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts: Festivals of China |date=1991 |publisher=China Books & Periodicals |location=San Francisco |isbn=0-8351-2481-9 |pages=71–79}}</ref><ref name="中國節日的故事 2001"/>{{refpage|196–197}} [[Nelumbo nucifera|Lotus]]-shaped lanterns are lit and set afloat in rivers to symbolically guide lost [[soul]]s to the [[afterlife]].<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Ullam-bana Festival"/>

In some East Asian countries today, live performances are held and everyone is invited to attend. The first row of seats are always empty as this is where the ghosts sit. The shows are always put on at night and at high volumes as the sound is believed to attract and please the ghosts. Some shows include [[Chinese opera]], dramas, and in some areas, even [[burlesque]] shows. Traditionally Chinese opera was the main source of entertainment but the newer shows, concerts, dramas, wars, and so forth are referred to as [[Getai]].<ref name="nine">"Chinese Culture: Hungry Ghost Festival" [http://www.chinese-culture.net/html/hungry_ghost_festival.html Modern China] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203210232/http://www.chinese-culture.net/html/hungry_ghost_festival.html |date=February 3, 2009 }}</ref>  These acts are better known as "Merry-making".<ref name="seven">"Ghost Festival" ChinaVoc 2001–2007, [http://www.chinavoc.com/festivals/ghost.htm Online Store.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090608143719/http://www.chinavoc.com/festivals/ghost.htm |date=8 June 2009 }}</ref>

For rituals, [[Chinese Buddhism|Chinese Buddhists]] and [[Taoism|Taoists]] hold ceremonies to relieve ghosts from suffering, many of them holding ceremonies in the afternoon or at night (as it is believed that the ghosts are released from hell when the sun sets). Altars are built for the deceased and priests and monks alike perform rituals for the benefit of ghosts. Monks and priests often throw rice or other small foods into the air in all directions to distribute them to the ghosts.<ref name="seven" /> An example of such a ritual is the Chinese Buddhist [[Yujia Yankou]] rite, which is performed to facilitate the physical and spiritual nourishment of all [[Sentient beings (Buddhism)|sentient beings]] in [[Saṃsāra (Buddhism)|saṃsāra]], including the hungry ghosts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lye, Hun Yeow, Department of Religious Studies, University of Virginia |title=Feeding Ghosts: A Study of the Yuqie Yankou Rite |url=https://libraetd.lib.virginia.edu/public_view/b8515n64w |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=libraetd.lib.virginia.edu}}</ref>

During the evening, [[incense]] is burnt in front of the doors of households.<ref name="Wei Chinese Festivals Ullam-bana Festival">{{cite book |last1=Wei |first1=Liming |title=Chinese Festivals: Traditions, Customs and Rituals |date=2010 |location=Beijing |isbn=9787508516936 |pages=46–49 |edition=Second}}</ref> Incense stands for prosperity in Chinese culture, so families believe that there is more prosperity in burning more incense.<ref name="seven" />  During the festival, some shops are closed as they want to leave the streets open for the ghosts. In the middle of each street stands an altar of incense with fresh fruit and sacrifices displayed on it.<ref name="seven" />

Fourteen days after the festival, to make sure all the hungry ghosts find their way back to hell, people float water lanterns and set them outside their houses. These lanterns are made by setting a lotus flower-shaped lantern on a paper boat. The lanterns are used to direct the ghosts back to the underworld, and when they go out, it symbolizes that they have found their way back.<ref name="seven" />

==Celebrations in other parts of Asia==
[[File:Chinese Ghost Festival Getai Performance in Singapore.jpg|alt=Getai Performance in Singapore|thumb|left|A Getai Performance in Singapore.]]
=== Singapore and Malaysia ===
During the 1800s to 1980s in [[Singapore]], temples and various organisations would hire opera troupes to perform [[Chinese Street Opera in Singapore|street opera]] for the wandering ghosts and residents alike.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Soon |first=Lee Tong |date=2000 |title=Professional Chinese Opera Troupes and Street Opera Performance in Singapore |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/834397 |journal=Asian Music |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=35–70 |doi=10.2307/834397 |issn=0044-9202 |jstor=834397|url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[Malaysian Chinese]] would also celebrate the festival with street opera. With the decline of street opera in both Singapore and Malaysia, modern concert-like performances became a prominent feature of the Ghost Festival. Those live concerts are popularly known as [[Getai]] in [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] ({{lang-zh|c=|poj=|s=歌台|t=歌臺|p=gētái}}) or ''Koh-tai'' ([[Min Nan|Hokkien]] {{lang-zh|c=歌臺|poj=ko-tâi|s=|t=|p=}}) meaning song stages.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hungry Ghost Festival|url=http://www.visitsingapore.com/festivals-events-singapore/cultural-festivals/hungry-ghost-festival/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726170044/http://www.visitsingapore.com/festivals-events-singapore/cultural-festivals/hungry-ghost-festival/|archive-date=July 26, 2018|access-date=July 26, 2018}}</ref> They are performed by groups of singers, dancers, entertainers, and opera troops or puppet shows on a temporary stage that is set up within a residential district. The festival is usually funded by the temples or organisations of each individual district. During these ''Getai'' the front row is left empty for the special guests—the ghosts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hungry Ghost Festival|url=https://rove.me/to/singapore/hungry-ghost-festival|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726135216/https://rove.me/to/singapore/hungry-ghost-festival|archive-date=July 26, 2018|access-date=July 26, 2018}}</ref> It is known to be bad luck to sit on the front row of red seats, if anyone were to sit on them, they would become sick or similarly ailed.

===Indonesia===
[[File:Hungry Ghost Festival IVan Damanik12 15 Agustus 2019.jpg|thumb|left|A man throws the ''Hell notes'' during Hungry Ghost Festival in [[Vihara Gunung Timur]], [[Medan]], Indonesia.]]
In Indonesia, the festival is popularly known as ''Chit Gwee Pua'' ([[Hokkien]] {{lang-zh|c=[[wikt:七月半|七月半]]|poj=Chhit-goe̍h-pòaⁿ}}) or ''Chit Nyiat Pan'' ([[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]] {{lang-zh|c=[[wikt:七月半|七月半]]}}; [[Pha̍k-fa-sṳ]]:''Chhit-ngie̍t-pan''), ''Cioko'', or ''Sembahyang Rebutan'' in [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] (Scrambling prayer). Observers gather around temples and bring an offering to a spirit who died in an unlucky way, and after that, they distribute it to the poor. The way people scramble the offerings is the origin of the festival name, and the festival is mostly known in [[Java Island]]. Other areas like [[North Sumatra]], [[Riau]], and [[Riau islands]] also conduct live concerts known as ''Getai'' ([[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] {{lang-zh|c=|poj=|s=歌台|t=歌臺|p=gētái}}) like those in Malaysia and Singapore, and there are also times when observers conduct Tomb sweeping known as ''Sembahyang Kubur'' to respect ancestor spirits and garner luck. This is done by buying [[Hell money|hell notes]] or ''Kim Cua'' ([[Hokkien]] {{lang-zh|c=[[wikt:金紙|金紙]]|poj=kim-chóa}}) and paper-based goods like paper house, paper horse, paper car, etc., which will end up being burned as it is believed that burned goods will be sent to help the spirits feel better in afterlife.

=== Philippines ===
In the [[Philippines]], the occasion is more popularly known as ''Ghost Month'', as it affects the entire seventh lunisolar month of the [[Chinese calendar]] around August to September (which coincided with the month of the [[Immaculate Heart of Mary]]). The month-long observances are mostly traditionally practiced and originated by [[Chinese Filipinos]] which its observance has since spread to other Filipinos that have become aware of it, since it reverberates economically through the [[Philippine Stock Exchange|stock market]] as a sizable amount of investors stop investing and put off their investments for later dates past the occasion.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 18, 2022 |title=Why August is called the "Ghost Month" |url=https://www.securitybank.com/blog/why-august-is-called-the-ghost-month/ |website=Security Bank Financial Blog}}</ref> Generally, those who observe it find it to be a very unlucky time of the year, as traditional belief states that the souls of dead relatives, wandering souls or vengeful spirits roam the earth during the month-long occasion. This means that practitioners take extra precautions and caution others of making important decisions when it comes to relationships, professions, businesses, and finances. People avoid practices like, making life-changing decisions, getting married or engaged, starting new businesses, moving to a new home, traveling, signing contracts, making impulsive major financial decisions, committing to big professional projects, inaugurations, buying or selling off high priced possessions such as cars, phones, or real estate properties, staying late out at night especially kids and elderlies, making noise or whistling at night, leaving food or hanging clothes out after sunset and leaving them overnight since their human-like shape may invite spirits, or even taking pictures at night, wearing black clothes, tapping people on the head or shoulders as it may affect their luck, picking up coins or strange items you find since these may belong to the dead, or even constantly talking to oneself, or going to cemeteries alone, or answering unknown whispers or sobbing, or being constantly close to bodies of water, or constantly talking about ghosts or death. Besides these many avoidances, practitioners also make offerings and prayers for the souls of the dead, such as burning [[spirit money]], lighting [[incense]], and laying out food like fruits and drinks on home or temple altars or cemetery tombs or graves or mausoleums of deceased relatives that people during this month also start to visit. Some people also start to hold memorial services to deceased relatives or ancestors held either at home or at a Chinese temple, a church or [[funeral home]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dy-Zulueta |first=Dolly |date=January 5, 2024 |title=Lifestyle: The Budgetarian: Money Do's and Don'ts during Ghost Month |url=https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/the-budgetarian/2024/01/05/2289110/money-dos-and-donts-during-ghost-month |website=Philstar.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Beltran |first=Cito |date=October 27, 2023 |title=Opinion: Filipino Hungry Ghost Month |url=https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2023/10/27/2306860/filipino-hungry-ghost-month |website=The Philippine Star}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 16, 2023 |title=Lifestyle: Why Does *Everything* Seem To Stop During Ghost Month? |url=https://www.cosmo.ph/lifestyle/ghost-month-a254-20230816 |website=Cosmopolitan Philippines}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 12, 2018 |title=Starweek Magazine: Ghost Month |url=https://www.philstar.com/other-sections/starweek-magazine/2018/08/12/1841664/ghost-month |website=The Philippine Star}}</ref>

===Taiwan===
[[File:2024 Ghost Festival of Bangka Lungshan Temple-11.2024-08-18.jpg|thumb|The Ghost Festival being celebrated in the [[Longshan Temple (Taipei)|Bangka Lungshan Temple]] in Taiwan.]]
Traditionally, it is believed that ghosts haunt the island of [[Taiwan]] for the entire seventh lunisolar month, when the mid-summer ''Ghost Festival'' is held.<ref>[http://www.chinatownconnection.com/taiwan-ghost-festival.htm Mid-Summer Ghost Festival] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110118152706/http://chinatownconnection.com/taiwan-ghost-festival.htm|date=January 18, 2011}}, [http://www.chinatownconnection.com/ China Town Connection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919002224/http://chinatownconnection.com/|date=September 19, 2010}}.</ref> The month is known as ''Ghost Month''.<ref>[http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/festival_c/ghost_e/html/ghost2.htm Ghost Month] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203024217/http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/festival_c/ghost_e/html/ghost2.htm |date=3 December 2010 }}, [http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/festival_c/ghost_e/ghost.htm Ghost Festival] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229022751/http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/festival_c/ghost_e/ghost.htm |date=29 December 2010 }}, [http://www.gio.gov.tw/ Government Information Office]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050403211555/http://www.gio.gov.tw/ |date=3 April 2005 }}, [[Taiwan]].</ref> The first day of the month is marked by opening the gate of a temple, symbolizing the gates of hell. On the twelfth day, lamps on the main altar are lit. On the thirteenth day, a procession of lanterns is held. On the fourteenth day, a parade is held for releasing water lanterns. Incense and food are offered to the spirits to deter them from visiting homes and [[Hell money|spirit paper money]] is also burnt as an offering.<ref>[http://www.go2taiwan.net/monthly_selection.php?sqno=14 Taiwan's Ghost Festival and Other Religious Events] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029060207/http://go2taiwan.net/monthly_selection.php?sqno=14 |date=October 29, 2010 }}, [http://www.go2taiwan.net/ Go2Taiwan.net] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831112456/http://www.go2taiwan.net/ |date=August 31, 2010 }}.</ref> During the month, people avoid surgery, buying cars, swimming, moving house, marrying, whistling, and going out or taking pictures after dark.<ref>{{cite news |title=13 unlucky taboos to evade during Ghost Month in Taiwan |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4600919 |access-date=26 March 2023 |work=Taiwan News |date=28 July 2022 |archive-date=March 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326015155/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4600919 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Loh |first1=Lainey |title=Hungry Ghost Festival 2022: 7 Things You Shouldn't Do |url=https://www.tatlerasia.com/lifestyle/arts/hungry-ghost-festival-things-to-avoid-dos-and-donts-superstitions |access-date=26 March 2023 |work=Tatler Asia |language=en |archive-date=March 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326015203/https://www.tatlerasia.com/lifestyle/arts/hungry-ghost-festival-things-to-avoid-dos-and-donts-superstitions |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Ghost Month effects cause Taiwan car sales to plunge in August |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3525402 |access-date=26 March 2023 |work=Taiwan News |date=8 September 2018 |archive-date=March 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326015154/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3525402 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Taiwan Quick Take: Ghost Month fuels surgeries |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2006/07/24/2003320142 |access-date=26 March 2023 |work=Taipei Times |date=24 July 2006 |archive-date=March 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326015156/https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2006/07/24/2003320142 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Vietnam===
<!--redirect here{{Main|Tết Trung Nguyên}}-->
[[File:Food offerings for the Mid-Autumn festival in Ecopark (2017).jpg|thumb|left|Various food items being offered for the wandering souls in {{ill2|Tháng Cô Hồn|vi|Tháng Cô Hồn}}.]]
This festival is known as ''Tết Trung Nguyên''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fanchette |first1=Sylvie |last2=Stedman |first2=Nicholas |title=Discovering Craft Villages in Vietnam: Ten Itineraries Around Hà Nội |date=2009 |publisher=IRD Editions |isbn=978-2-7099-1671-4 |page=149 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VVhi-IuMvtAC&q=%22T%E1%BA%BFt+Trung+Nguy%C3%AAn%22 |access-date=26 March 2023 |language=en |archive-date=August 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830152435/https://books.google.com/books?id=VVhi-IuMvtAC&q=%22T%E1%BA%BFt+Trung+Nguy%C3%AAn%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> and is viewed as a time for the pardoning of condemned souls who are released from hell. The "homeless" should be "fed" and appeased with offerings of food. Merits for the living are also earned by the release of birds and fish. The lunisolar month in which the festival takes place is colloquially known as ''Tháng Cô Hồn'' - the month of lonely spirits, and believed to be haunted and particularly unlucky.

Influenced by [[Buddhism]], this holiday coincides with ''Vu Lan'', the Vietnamese transliteration for Ullambana.

In modern times, Vu Lan is also seen as Parents' Day.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Paine |first1=Crispin |title=Gods and Rollercoasters: Religion in Theme Parks Worldwide |date=10 January 2019 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-350-04628-3 |page=153 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ShB-DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22vu+Lan%22+festival&pg=PA35 |access-date=26 March 2023 |language=en |archive-date=August 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830152437/https://books.google.com/books?id=ShB-DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22vu+Lan%22+festival&pg=PA35 |url-status=live }}</ref> People with living parents would bear a red rose and would give thanks while those without can choose to bear a white rose; and attend services to pray for the deceased.

==Related traditions==
===Buddhist traditions===
[[File:Kantong02.jpg|thumb|A kantong (container made from leaves with flowers and offering) for floating on water during Pchum Ben Day in Cambodia.]]
In Asian [[Theravada Buddhism|Theravadin Buddhist]] countries, related traditions, ceremonies, and festivals also occur. Like its ''[[Ullambana Sutra]]''-origins in Mahayana Buddhist countries, the Theravada scripture, the ''[[Petavatthu]]'' gave rise to the idea of offering food to the hungry ghosts in the Theravada tradition as a form of merit-making. In stories published in the ''Petavatthu'' [[Maudgalyayana]], who also plays the central role in the rise of the concept in the Mahayana tradition, along with [[Sariputta]] also play a role in the rise of the concept in the Theravada tradition.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/13576275.2013.843512 | volume=18 | issue=4 | title=Buddhist funeral cultures of Southeast Asia and China | journal=Mortality | pages=388–389| year=2013 | last1=Pearce | first1=Callum | s2cid=144383079 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oeBL7ci3MKoC| title=Sacred Biography in the Buddhist Traditions of South and Southeast Asia| isbn=9788120818125| last1=Schober| first1=Juliane| year=2002| publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.| access-date=February 11, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212000835/https://books.google.com.au/books?id=oeBL7ci3MKoC&printsec=frontcover| archive-date=February 12, 2017| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Hecker|first=Hellmuth|title=Maha-Moggallana|url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/hecker/wheel263.html|access-date=February 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060218222714/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/hecker/wheel263.html|archive-date=February 18, 2006|url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly to the rise of the concept in Mahayana Buddhism, a version of ''[[Mulian Rescues His Mother|Maudgalyayana Rescues His Mother]]'', where Maudgalyayana is replaced by Sariputta is recorded in the ''Petavatthu'' and is in part the basis behind the practice of the concept in Theravadin societies.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sacbc.org/docs/Thoughts%20on%20Obon.pdf |title=StackPath |access-date=February 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211160001/http://www.sacbc.org/docs/Thoughts%20on%20Obon.pdf |archive-date=February 11, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> The concept of offering food to the hungry ghosts is also found in early Buddhist literature, in the ''Tirokudda Kanda''.<ref>{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7i8Jv5RuPs4C| title=Tibetan Rituals of Death: Buddhist Funerary Practices| isbn=9781136959172| last1=Gouin| first1=Margaret| date=2012-09-10| publisher=Routledge| access-date=December 7, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220083703/https://books.google.com/books?id=7i8Jv5RuPs4C&printsec=frontcover| archive-date=December 20, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref>

====Cambodia====
{{Main|Pchum Ben}}
In Cambodia, a fifteen-day-long annual festival known as ''[[Pchum Ben]]'' occurs generally in September or October. Cambodians pay their respects to deceased relatives up to seven generations. The gates of hell are believed to open during this period and many people make offerings to these hungry ghosts.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Holt|first=John Clifford|date=April 2012|title=Caring for the Dead Ritually in Cambodia|url=https://englishkyoto-seas.org/wp-content/uploads/010101.pdf|journal=Southeast Asian Studies|volume=1|issue=1|pages=3–75|access-date=September 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420211625/https://englishkyoto-seas.org/wp-content/uploads/010101.pdf|archive-date=April 20, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Laos====
In Laos, a festival known as, ''Boun khao padap din'' usually occurs in September each year and goes on for two weeks. During this period, it is believed that hungry ghosts are freed from hell and enter the world of the living. A second festival known as ''Boun khao salak'' occurs directly after the conclusion of ''Boun khay padab din''. During this period, food offerings are made to the hungry ghosts.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ladwig|first=Patrice|title=Visitors from hell: transformative hospitality to ghosts in a Lao Buddhist festival|url=https://www.academia.edu/1963902|journal=Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute|year=2012|language=en|volume=18|pages=S90–S102|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9655.2012.01765.x|issn=1359-0987|access-date=December 5, 2017|archive-date=May 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510133041/http://www.academia.edu/1963902/Visitors_from_Hell_Transformative_Hospitality_to_Ghosts_in_a_Lao_Buddhist_festival._Journal_of_the_Royal_Anthropological_Institut_2012_Vol.18_s1_90-102|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Sri Lanka====
In Sri Lanka, food offerings are made to Buddhist monks as a way for indirectly offering them to their relatives who might have been born as a hungry ghost. This is typically offered on the seventh day, three months and one year after the death day of a deceased person. It is a ceremony conducted after death as part of traditional Sri Lankan Buddhist funeral rites and is known as ''mataka dānēs'' or ''matakadānaya''.<ref name="Source">{{harvp|Langer|2007|pp=153, 155, 173, 187, 191}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Buddhism |last=Buswell |first= Robert E |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA |year=2004 |isbn=978-0028659107 |pages=21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PO0lZ-TFssMC&q=mataka+d%C4%81n%C4%93s&pg=PA24| title=Buddhism: Buddhism in South and Southeast Asia| isbn=9780415332330| last1=Williams| first1=Paul| year=2005| publisher=Taylor & Francis| access-date=October 4, 2020| archive-date=August 30, 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830152440/https://books.google.com/books?id=PO0lZ-TFssMC&q=mataka+d%C4%81n%C4%93s&pg=PA24| url-status=live}}</ref> The offerings that are made acquire [[Merit (Buddhism)|merit]] which are then transformed back into the equivalent goods in the world of the hungry ghosts.<ref name="Source"/> The offering that is offered on the seventh day, comes a day after personalized food offerings are given in the garden to the spirit of the deceased relative, which occurs on the sixth day.<ref>{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDO_7BncqKwC| title=Studying Buddhism in Practice| isbn=9781136501883| last1=Harding| first1=John S| date=2013-06-17| publisher=Routledge| access-date=December 7, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220082229/https://books.google.com/books?id=MDO_7BncqKwC&printsec=frontcover| archive-date=December 20, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/Buddhist%20Rituals%20of%20Death%20and%20Rebirth_Contemporary%20Sri%20Lankan%20Practice%20and%20its%20Origins_Langer.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=December 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527225922/http://ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/Buddhist%20Rituals%20of%20Death%20and%20Rebirth_Contemporary%20Sri%20Lankan%20Practice%20and%20its%20Origins_Langer.pdf |archive-date=May 27, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The deceased who do not reach the proper afterworld, the [[Preta|Hungry Ghost realm]], are feared by the living as they are believed to cause various sicknesses and disasters to the living. Buddhist monks are called upon to perform ''[[Paritta|pirit]]'' to ward off the floating spirits. The rite is also practiced in Thailand and Myanmar and is also practiced during the Ghost Festival that is observed in other Asian countries.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/ancestors |title=Ancestors - Dictionary definition of Ancestors &#124; Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary |access-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206185559/http://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/ancestors |archive-date=February 6, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Thailand====
{{Main|Sat Thai}}
In Thailand, a fifteen-day-long annual festival known as ''[[Sat Thai]]'' is celebrated between September and October in Thailand especially in southern Thailand, particularly in the province of [[Nakhon Si Thammarat Province|Nakhon Si Thammarat]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bangkok101.com/sat-thai-festival/ |title=Sat Thai Festival - Bangkok 101 |access-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207084352/http://www.bangkok101.com/sat-thai-festival/ |archive-date=February 7, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Like related festivals and traditions in other parts of Asia, the deceased are believed to come back to earth for fifteen days and people make offerings to them. The festival is known as ''Sat Thai'' to differentiate it from the Chinese Ghost Festival which is known as ''Sat Chin'' in the [[Thai language]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sawadee.com/thailand/festivals/festival10.html |title=Thailand Events & Festivals of October |access-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206184757/http://www.sawadee.com/thailand/festivals/festival10.html |archive-date=February 6, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Japan ====
[[File:Albuquerque Bridge-Sasebo River, Sasebo.jpg|thumb|Japanese volunteers perform [[tōrō nagashi]]: placing candle-lit lanterns for the dead into flowing water during [[Obon]], in this case into the [[Sasebo, Nagasaki|Sasebo River]].]]
===== ''Chūgen'' =====<!-- This section is linked to from Chūgen -->
''Chūgen'' (中元), also {{nihongo|''Ochūgen''|お中元}}, is an annual event in Japan on the 15th day of the 7th month, when people give gifts, especially to their superiors.<ref>{{cite news |title=Japanese Culture - Etiquette |url=https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/japanese-culture/japanese-culture-etiquette |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326031050/https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/japanese-culture/japanese-culture-etiquette |archive-date=March 26, 2023 |access-date=26 March 2023 |work=Cultural Atlas |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Davies |first1=Roger J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rADRAgAAQBAJ&dq=Ch%C5%ABgen+gifts&pg=PT124 |title=Japanese Mind: Understanding Contemporary Japanese Culture |last2=Ikeno |first2=Osamu |date=14 June 2011 |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |isbn=978-1-4629-0051-0 |language=en |access-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830151928/https://books.google.com/books?id=rADRAgAAQBAJ&dq=Ch%C5%ABgen+gifts&pg=PT124 |archive-date=August 30, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> Originally it was an annual event for giving gifts to the ancestral spirits.

One of the three days that form the {{nihongo|''sangen''|三元}} of [[Daoism]], it is sometimes considered a ''zassetsu'', a type of [[Japanese calendar#Seasonal days|seasonal day]] in the [[Japanese calendar]].

===== ''Bon'' =====
{{main|Bon (festival)}}
{{See also|Segaki}}
''Obon'' (sometimes transliterated ''O-bon''), or simply ''Bon'', is the Japanese version of the Ghost Festival.<ref name="Ghosts A Haunted History Obon">{{cite book |last1=Morton |first1=Lisa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6T0pCgAAQBAJ&dq=obon+ghost+festival&pg=PT102 |title=Ghosts: A Haunted History |date=15 September 2015 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1-78023-537-0 |language=en |access-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830151932/https://books.google.com/books?id=6T0pCgAAQBAJ&dq=obon+ghost+festival&pg=PT102 |archive-date=August 30, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> It has since been transformed over time into a family reunion holiday during which people from the big cities return to their home towns and visit and clean the resting places of their ancestors.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Car |first1=Nikki Van De |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VL14EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT66 |title=Ritual: Magical Celebrations of Nature and Community from Around the World |date=14 March 2023 |publisher=Running Press |isbn=978-0-7624-8143-9 |language=en |access-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830151933/https://books.google.com/books?id=VL14EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT66 |archive-date=August 30, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ph.D |first1=Helen J. Baroni |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=smNM4ElP3XgC&pg=PA247 |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism |date=15 January 2002 |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc |isbn=978-0-8239-2240-6 |page=247 |language=en |access-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830152031/https://books.google.com/books?id=smNM4ElP3XgC&pg=PA247 |archive-date=August 30, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Traditionally including a dance called [[Bon Odori]],<ref name="Ghosts A Haunted History Obon" /> Obon has existed in Japan for more than 500 years. In modern Japan, it is held on July 15 in the eastern part ([[Kantō region|Kantō]]) and on August 15 in the western part ([[Kansai]]).

==== Ryukyu Islands ====
In [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]] and the [[Amami Islands]], it is celebrated as in China, on the 15th day of the 7th lunisolar month. This festival is known as ''Bun/Usjooroo''.

===Hindu traditions===
[[File:Pinda Daan - Jagannath Ghat - Kolkata 2012-10-15 0701.JPG|thumb|left|Pitri Paksha rites being performed on the banks of the [[Hooghly River]] at Jagannath Ghat in [[Kolkata]].]]
====India====
{{Main|Pitru Paksha}}
The performance of [[Śrāddha|Shraddha]] by a son during [[Pitru Paksha]] is regarded as compulsory by [[Hinduism|Hindus]], to ensure that the soul of the ancestor goes to [[Heaven#Hinduism|heaven]]. In this context, the scripture [[Garuda Purana]] says, "there is no salvation for a man without a son". The scriptures preach that a householder should propitiate ancestors [[Pitrs|(Pitris)]], along with the gods [[Deva (Hinduism)|(devas)]], ghosts [[Bhoot (ghost)|(bhutas)]], and guests. The scripture [[Markandeya Purana]] says that if the ancestors are content with the shraddhas, they will bestow health, wealth, knowledge and longevity, and ultimately heaven and salvation ([[moksha]]) upon the performer.<ref name="sastri">{{cite book|last=Sastri|first=S. M. Natesa|title=Hindu feasts, fasts and ceremonies|publisher=Asian Educational Services|year=1988|pages=15–17|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ibsEj8ihuoC&q=mahalaya&pg=PA15|isbn=978-81-206-0402-5|access-date=October 4, 2020|archive-date=August 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830152458/https://books.google.com/books?id=_ibsEj8ihuoC&q=mahalaya&pg=PA15|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Indonesia====
In [[Bali]] and some parts of Indonesia, particularly among the [[Hinduism in Indonesia|indigenous Hindus]] of Indonesia, ancestors who have died and cremated are said to return to visit their former homes. This day is known as [[Galungan|Hari Raya Galungan]] and celebrations typically last over two weeks, often in the form of specific food and religious offerings along with festivities.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bali-indonesia.com/magazine/galungan-kuningan.htm |title=Galungan and Kuningan in Bali - Bali Magazine |access-date=July 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703150449/http://www.bali-indonesia.com/magazine/galungan-kuningan.htm |archive-date=July 3, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.balispirit.com/community/ceremony-public/galungan-and-kuningan |title=Balinese ceremonies: Galungan and Kuningan |access-date=July 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703150448/https://www.balispirit.com/community/ceremony-public/galungan-and-kuningan |archive-date=July 3, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The festival date is often calculated according to the [[Balinese pawukon calendar]] and typically occurs every 210 days.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.vilondo.com/when-to-go-to-bali/balinese-holidays/the-calendars-of-bali/ |title=The calendars of Bali |access-date=July 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703150445/https://www.vilondo.com/when-to-go-to-bali/balinese-holidays/the-calendars-of-bali/ |archive-date=July 3, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[All Souls' Day]]
* [[Buddhist art]]
* [[Chinese ghosts]]
* [[Lantern Festival]]
* [[Nine Emperor God]] / [[Festival of Nine Emperor God]] ({{zh|links=no|九皇}}, Hokkien: Kow Ong Yah, Cantonese: Kow Wong Yeh)
* [[Phi Ta Khon]] 
* [[Tōrō nagashi]]

== Notes on references ==
{{reflist|group=note|35em}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

== General and cited bibliography ==
* {{citation |date=2005 |url=http://www.bdkamerica.org/digital/dBET_ApocryphalScriptures_2005.pdf |series=Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai English Tripitaka Series |title=Apocryphal Scriptures |editor-last=Bandō |editor-first=Shōjun |contribution=The Ullambana Sutra (Taishō Vol. 16, No. 685) |publisher=Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research |isbn=978-1-886439-29-0 |location=Berkeley |pages=17–44 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210115042/http://www.bdkamerica.org/digital/dBET_ApocryphalScriptures_2005.pdf |archive-date=10 February 2013 |df=mdy-all }}.
* {{citation |date=2015 |script-title=zh:鬼月鉤沉-中元、盂蘭、餓鬼節 |trans-title=Investigation of Ghost Month - Zhong Yuan, Ullambana and Hungry Ghost Festivals |location=Hong Kong |last1=Chow |first1=Shu Kai ({{lang|zh|周樹佳}}) |publisher=Chung Hwa Books (Hong Kong) |language=zh-hant |isbn=9789888366392}}
* {{citation |last=Langer |first=Rita |title=Buddhist Rituals of Death and Rebirth: Contemporary Sri Lankan Practice and Its Origins |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dXB9AgAAQBAJ |location=Abingdon |publisher=Routledge |date=2007 |isbn=9781134158720 }}.
* {{citation |date=2013a |last1=Karashima |first1=Seishi |title=The Meaning of Yulanpen {{lang|ja|italics=no|盂蘭盆}} "Rice Bowl" On Pravāraṇā Day |journal=Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advance Buddhology at Soka University for the Academic Year 2012 |volume=XVI |pages=289–305}}
* {{citation |date=2013b |last1=Karashima |first1=Seishi ({{lang|ja|italics=no|辛嶋静志}}) |script-title=ja:「盂蘭盆」の本当の意味 ―千四百間の誤解を解く |trans-title=The Real Meaning of Urabon [Yulanpen] –The Solution to a 1400 Year Misunderstanding |journal={{lang|zh|italics=no|大法輪}} (The Great Wheel of the Dharma) |pages=182–189 |language=ja}}
* {{citation |date=2014 |last1=Karashima |first1=Seishi ({{lang|ja|italics=no|辛嶋静志}})(in Chinese as {{lang|zh|italics=no|辛島靜志}}) |translator-last=Qiu |translator-first=Yun Qing ({{lang|zh|italics=no|裘雲青}}) |script-title=zh:盂蘭盆之意-自恣日的“飯鉢” |trans-title=The Meaning of Yulanpen {{lang|zh|italics=no|盂蘭盆}} "Rice Bowl" On Pravāraṇā Day |journal={{lang|zh|italics=no|中華文史論叢}} (Journal of Chinese Literature and History)|issue=114|language=zh-hant |pages=279–301}}
* {{citation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lylrmgD2Bv8C |title=T'ang Transformation Texts |last=Mair |first=Victor H. |date=1989 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=[[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]] |isbn=9780674868151 }}.
* {{citation |last=Teiser |first=Stephen F. |title=The Ghost Festival in Medieval China |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=anGlBZDWWLwC |date=1988 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=[[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton]] |isbn=978-0-691-02677-0 }}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ghost Festival}}
* [http://www.bristol.ac.uk/religion/buddhist-centre/projects/bdr/ The Bristol University Buddhist Death Ritual Project] Images and a documentary film by Ingmar Heise and Han Zhang "The Spirit's Happy Days: Buddhist Festivals for the Dead in Southeast China" can be downloaded there.
* [https://www.roots.gov.sg/en/ich-landing/ich/zhong-yuan-jie-hungry-ghost-festival Zhong Yuan Jie (Hungry Ghost Festival) - INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120805025839/http://www.china.org.cn/english/olympic/211929.htm Zhongyuan Festival]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090830201251/http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_chinaway/2004-03/17/content_46337.htm Chinese Ghost Culture]
* [http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkoh/search_theme.jsp?theme_code=T903 Hong Kong University Library Digital Archives Oral History Project of Hong Kong]
* {{cite journal | last1 = Waters | first1 = Dan | title = The Hungry Ghosts Festival in Aberdeen Street, Hong Kong| pages = 41–55 | url = http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/44/4402703.pdf| journal = Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch | volume = 44 | year = 2004 }}

{{Ghosts}}
{{Culture of Asia}}
{{Halloween}}
{{Authority control}}

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