'The month of the soul' - The taboo and should do

The folk conceived the lunar July every year as 'the month of the soul', so to avoid bad luck, avoid making taboos below.

Origin of the month of the soul

In China , the origin of the month of the soul originates from the Pluto to open the Gate of the Disciples on July 2 every year so that the hungry demons can return to the world and then return to the full moon. Therefore, according to traditional custom, earthly people have to offer porridge, rice, and salt to hungry ghosts so that they do not harass their daily lives. There are places where people call hungry ghosts ' good brothers' , 'back door gods' to please these hungry ghost spirits. Every year, Chinese people conduct soul offerings on July 14 Lunar Calendar.

Image of the United Kingdom administering Devil Mon Guan.

In Vietnam, worshiping a soul is a traditional spiritual belief of Vietnamese people, transmitted from one generation to another. Vietnamese people believe that man consists of two parts, soul and body. When people are lost but souls still exist, some people are conceived of another monster or someone is filled to hell, making hungry spirits harass the earth. Every year, Vietnamese people offer souls for a month, depending on each family, each region and not set a specific date. People also believe that the month of the soul is a demonic month , no good night, so most of the wedding work, starting construction, shopping, going away, . are avoided in July.

Image of hungry ghosts in folk beliefs.

In the seventh lunar month every year, outside the ceremony, the soul also has a Vu Lan ceremony. Vu Lan Festival, also known as the Ceremony , is one of the main holidays of Buddhism . The Vu Lan ceremony is associated with the area of ​​the Section of Lien Lien, the disciple of the Buddha, who is a religious monk who cultivates many miracles. According to the Buddha's teaching, Buddhists want to inform their parents, to celebrate Vu Lan to pray for the births and to destroy the hell for the souls.

Soul month and Vu Lan festival are not only popular in Vietnam, China but also in many other countries, especially East Asian countries. In Japan , this holiday is celebrated on July 7 of the lunar calendar and the full moon day of July. In Taiwan , this holiday lasts for a whole month but is usually concentrated on the 15th of the month with three different parts: first invite souls, sacrifice them to eat on the 15th and take them off on the 29th.

Feast of worship on 'amnesty of death'

The month of the soul or the month of " sins of death " is an important folk belief and is related to demons and spirituality, so it is highly appreciated by Vietnamese people. In addition to the sacrifices of worship and folk, we also communicate the things that people should do and should not do in the month of the soul to pray for peace and happiness.

Here are the taboos and things to do in the soul month:

17 taboos cannot be made during the month of the soul

1. Do not hang the wind chimes at the bedside because the bell will attract the attention of the devil, when people sleep will be vulnerable to intrusion.
2. Weak people should not go out at night in the days of the soul, otherwise it will be easy to get unlucky.
3. Do not pluck your legs on this day, because the folk claim that 'A feather of the three demon legs', the more leg feathers a person has, the less daring the devil is.
4. It is not arbitrary to burn paper and votive paper because it will make the devil come.
5. Do not eat awkward offerings, because it is for devils, if not yet praying and asking for food will pick up disaster.
6. Do not expose clothes at night, because ghosts will see 'borrow ' and leave 'demons ' in those clothes.
7. People who go out at night must not call each other's names, otherwise the devil will remember the name of the person being called, that is a bad omen.
8. Do not swim, because the devil will play with you, if you are not careful, you will be scratched by your legs.
9. Do not intimidate others that startle them 'battered souls' easily invaded by demons.
10. Banyan tree in front of the house is a place of convergence, the devil likes such places, so standing, sitting, lying, hiding . there.
11. Do not stay up too late, because the spirit will be depressed and easily infected with 'demons'.
12. At the corner of the corner, there are places where demons often gather to rest, not to go near those places.
13. Do not pick up money spilled on the road, because maybe it is money people offer to ransom the heads of buffaloes and horses, if anyone is in trouble, it will be disastrous.
14. When going through deserted places, she did not turn her head to look behind her, though there was a feeling of 'apparently' someone following her or calling her name. Because that may be due to the devil teasing.
15. When you go to bed, do not put your nose toward the bed, otherwise the devil will guess that there are people living in bed and they will go to bed with you.
16. Do not plug chopsticks in the middle of the rice bowl, because it is a form of sacrifice, just like a kind of incense burning, easy to lure demons into a common dining room.
17. Do not take photos at night , because demons always hovering around there will be 'invisible ' to the image of the living, which is not good.

Do not eat awkward offerings because it is for devils.

13 things to do in the month of the soul

1. Ceremony to worship the souls on any day of the month, if on the 2nd or 16th day of the lunar calendar, the better to express yourself.
2. Visit the grave of family members outside the cemetery or in the temple, where the remains of the jars are kept. Because in the month of the soul she is also called Tet of the Yin.
3. Before making offerings to the souls, if there is no time to light incense and prayers, there are those who compete to snatch the offerings from your hands, so immediately release the offerings from your hands. If you snatch it back, the consequences are bad. If you have not done a ritual, but someone has flirted with it, it means a good signal.
4. Should limit the killing of animals.
5. It is advisable to offer a car whether it is a business or not.
6. Should be vegetarian to avoid evil.
7. Strong welfare should be done this month.
8. If you know how to chant, you should recite (Note Dai bi, the standard, the spread spread filial piety, Geography).
9. Should speak politely, have fun in the family or in partner friends.
10. Should avoid conflicts.
11. Should save people when in danger.
12. Should go to the temple to light incense and pray for health, super .
13. When you finished offering your souls, 1 day later or at the end of July, you should use the powder to eliminate the evil spirits to eliminate it, to avoid the case where the lingering spirit sounds to your home. At the beginning of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, it is advisable to use disinfecting powder to completely remove it in your house so as to have a balance in your house.

Be sincere, worship and do good in the month of the soul.

Things to do or not to do in the month of the soul are folk beliefs that no one or any science can verify right and wrong. But with the concept that ' there is a sacred church, there is a good abstinence ', so people still focus on following. Moreover, the Vietnamese people believe that worshiping a soul is a humanitarian act, bringing a noble humanity to humanity, showing the respect and respect of the surviving person to the deceased, promoting the filial piety. and make blessings .