Ghost Month | The Story behind Ghost Month 鬼月的由來

農曆七月到來，在這個被俗稱為「鬼月」的月分中，我們常被長輩叮嚀「不可以這樣」、「要注意那樣」、「早點回家」等，而許多的禁忌也讓人感到麻煩。但你知道嗎，其實在明代之前，並沒有所謂的「鬼月」，那麼究竟是怎麼演化出這麼一個充滿禁忌、諸事不宜的月分的呢？也有著不同的說法。

農曆七月十五是中元節，而這背後有著一個相當具有教育意義的「目蓮救母」故事，主要講述佛陀弟子目蓮，用神通之力見到母親因在世時貪念業報，死後在地獄裡受餓鬼之苦，目連心生救母之心，用他的神力生出食物想給母親充饑，但母親仍不改貪念，見到食物就深怕被其他惡鬼搶食，遂受到佛陀懲罰，飯到口中就立刻變成火炭，不得下嚥。

目蓮不忍母親受苦受難，懇求佛陀告訴他解救母親的方法，並在佛陀的指示下，在七月十五日這天舉行法會，藉十方僧眾之力，誦經施食，終於解救母親的靈魂，此後佛教徒也都在這天舉行法會，為孤魂野鬼超渡，流傳至今也成為中元節要普渡祭拜「好兄弟」的習俗。

另一個關於鬼月的說法則是，其實鬼月本為「大吉之月」，篤信風水之說的明太祖朱元璋為了霸佔這個吉祥的月分，便派人四處謠傳七月是不祥的「鬼月」，諸事不宜。所以說不定鬼月其實是假的呢!

The 7th month on the Chinese calendar is known as “Ghost Month” in Taiwan, and on 7/1, the gate to the Underworld will open at 11 PM and all of the ghosts will rush to the world of the living. There are many “Ghost Month taboos” that are complicated or even troublesome to some people. Also, there are different versions of the story behind this “Ghost Month”. If you are interested, keep reading!

The 15th day of Ghost Month is called Hungry Ghost Festival or Zhongyuan Festival. On this day, “Zhongyuan Pudu” is held in temples all over Taiwan, offering feasts to the wandering ghosts.

#Version 1 Mù Lián

The story behind this day is about a son and a mother. The son is called Mù Lián who is one of the followers of Buddhism. Mù Lián's mother is sent to hell because of her greed. To save his mother, Mù Lián starts his journey into hell.

As soon as he meets his mother, he tries to use his power to feed her. However, everytime she sees the food, she tries to swallow it right away, feeling scared that other ghosts might steal her food.

Buddha considers that she does not repent so he makes the punishment even worse. That is, whenever she tries to swallow food, it will turn into burning charcoal, making it impossible to eat.

Mù Lián can’t bare his mother's suffering, so he begs Buddha for his mother’s salvation. Buddha tells him that on 7/15 a ceremony must be held by monks, offering food for those wandering ghosts. In the end, his mother is saved. Now the ceremony is called Zhongyuan Pudu or Hungry Ghost Festival.

#Version 2 Zhu Yuanzhang

Another saying is that Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of Ming Dynasty, believes that the 7th month on Lunar calendar is a month comes with great fortune and favor. In order to have all the good lucks to himself, Zhu Yuanzhang has his men to tell everyone that this month is “Ghost Month,” which comes with bad lucks.

Whether you believe these stories or not, you can still experience all those religious ceremonies or activities all over Taiwan during this month.