Foreword: The seventh month of the lunar calendar is known as the "ghost month" in the mainland folk, tomorrow is the first day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, and it is also a special day in the old folk tradition.
There are three important festivals related to ancestor worship in mainland folk, namely the Qingming Festival on the 15th day after the spring equinox, the mid-year festival on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, and the winter clothes festival on the first day of the tenth lunar month. Coming to the seventh month of the lunar calendar, let's learn what the old traditions say.
In the lunar calendar, there are 12 months in a year, and according to the characteristics of different months, the wise ancients also gave them different names. For example, in the lunar calendar, January is the "first month", February is the "apricot moon", March is the "peach moon", April is the "Huai month", May is the "pu moon", June is the "Fu moon", July is the "ghost month", August is the "laurel month", September is the "chrysanthemum moon", October is the "dew moon", November is the "winter moon", and December is the "wax moon". Judging from the title, the seventh month of the lunar calendar is more special, with the word "ghost" in the name, which is related to the ancient yin and yang theory of the mainland and the characteristics of the four seasons.
How did the ancients map the four seasons of the year to the theory of yin and yang? Spring, summer, autumn and winter throughout the year, of which January to March of the lunar calendar is spring, the yin and yang qi in nature begins to transform, and all things begin to sprout with the rise of yang energy; The lunar calendar from April to June is summer, known for its high temperature weather, when the yang energy in nature gradually reaches a pole; July to September of the lunar calendar is autumn, and the natural world begins to transition from yang to yin; The 10-12 months of the lunar calendar are winter, when the yin energy in nature will reach a pole. The four seasons of the year usher in transformation and reincarnation in the continuous circulation of yin and yang qi in nature.
So what does this have to do with the fact that the seventh month of the lunar calendar is the "ghost month"? Let's first understand the definition of the word "ghost" by the ancients. In the Book of Rites, it is said that "all living beings will die, and death will return to the earth, which is called ghosts", which means that people will return to their homeland after death, and people use "ghosts" to collectively refer to their deceased relatives. The seventh month of the lunar calendar is the first month of autumn, from the perspective of the ancient theory of yin and yang, at this time, the yin qi is formed, and all things in nature gradually tend to converge state, showing a group of solemn atmosphere, which makes people feel a bit of sad atmosphere, and touches the scene and misses the ancestors more, so the ancients combined with the characteristics of the natural world at this time, and called the seventh lunar month "ghost month".
Tomorrow is the first day of the seventh lunar month - the first day of the seventh lunar month, and it is also the 13th day of the Great Heat solar term.
The first day of July is "New Year's Day"
The lunar calendar is a calendar based on the changes in the moon phase cycle, in which on the last day of each lunar month, the moon is almost hidden, and the night is relatively dark, which was called "obscure day" by the ancients. On the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, the earth moves between the sun and the moon, and people can see a full moon, so this day is called "looking at the sun".
On the first day of the lunar calendar, the moon runs between the sun and the earth, and the dark side faces the earth, causing people to not see the moon, which is also called the "new sun". The first day of the seventh lunar month is the seventh "New Year" of the Year of the Dragon in 2024, and the moon phase changes will come to a new cycle.
On the first day of July, "open the door"
The ancients called the seventh month of the lunar calendar "ghost month", the first day of the seventh lunar month is the first day to enter the "ghost month", in myths and legends, this day is the day when the king of Yama opens the ghost door and lets the ghost go out, also called "open the door of the earth", and the ghost door will be closed at the end of July, so the last day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar is also called "closing the door of the earth".
Regarding the first day of the seventh month, the ancient book "Kinmen Chronicles" of the Qing Dynasty recorded that "from the first day of the seventh month (the first day of the first month), each society extended the monks and set up Jiao to make the Yulan Society, commonly known as Pudu, to sacrifice to the ownerless ghosts." The ancients would worship their ancestors on this day to thank their ancestors for their protection and pray for the peace of the country.
On the first day of July, "Yang Gongji"
Zeji is a part of traditional Chinese culture and affects all aspects of people's lives. "Yang Gongji" is one of the theories of auspiciousness adopted by the ancients, and there are relevant records in the "Siku Quanshu", which specifically refers to the 13 days in a year, which are the thirteenth day of the first month, the eleventh day of February, the ninth day of March, the seventh day of April, the fifth day of May, the third day of June, the first day of July, the twenty-ninth day of July, the twenty-seventh day of August, the twenty-fifth day of September, the twenty-third day of October, the twenty-first day of November, and the nineteenth day of December, which is the day of "do not use big things" in the hearts of the ancients.
Tomorrow's first day of July is one of the death days in the old folk belief "Yang Gong Thirteen Taboo", it is worth mentioning that the seventh month of the lunar calendar is different from other months with only one "death day", this month is more special, a total of 2 "Yang Gong death days".
1- Fear of not returning home at night
In ancient times, the conditions were relatively backward, and people walked at night more often with the help of moonlight lighting, and according to the law of moon phase changes, the first day of each lunar month is the day when the moon is not visible, so there is a saying that "the first day of the new year is not late". In addition, the first day of the seventh lunar month is also the first day of entering the "ghost month", so the ancients were more taboo in this regard.
From a practical point of view, not returning home at night is usually because of having fun outside, which will inevitably affect night sleep, and some people will even stay up all night, which is not good for health.
2- Afraid to go swimming in the river
The seventh month of the lunar calendar happens to be the time of summer vacation, and the weather is relatively hot, many children like to go to the river to play in the water. However, in the view of the old tradition, the first day of the seventh lunar month "open the earth" is one of the death days of Yang Gongji, so the ancients generally did not go to the river to play on this day, mainly out of a sense of awe for the old tradition.
From a safety point of view, many places have entered the flood season around the seventh month of the lunar calendar, the water level changes rapidly, the river is turbulent, and if you rush to the river to swim, there will be a greater safety hazard, and it is easy to drown.
3- Fear of rain
The agricultural proverb says that "one rain in the first month of July, twenty-five days of storm", which means that if it rains on the first day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, it indicates that the rainy weather will be dominated by the future period, resulting in insufficient sunlight and affecting the growth of crops, so people prefer this day to be sunny rather than heavy rain.
In addition, some places have the custom of worshipping ancestors on the first day of the seventh lunar month, people will sweep the tombs of their ancestors, and most of the cemeteries are in relatively remote places, and if it catches up with the rainy day, it will also bring inconvenience to people's travel.
Tomorrow is the first day of the seventh lunar month, do you agree with these old traditions? It is recommended to understand on the basis of respect and spend the seventh lunar month safely and smoothly.
#夏日生活打卡季#