中元節(jié)與萬圣節(jié)

1、The origin of Zhongyuan Festival There is a say in a scripture of Taoism. That is “天官賜福，地官赦罪，水官解厄”. We call them the three great emperors,”三官大帝 or 三元大帝” in Chinese.The immortal of sky is “紫微大帝” .The immortal of land is “清虛大帝” .The immortal of river is “洞陰大帝” . We always say “一元復(fù)始，萬象更新”. “元” means th

2、e beginning.Here “元” relatively means birth.“中元” is the birthday of “清虛大帝”Every July 15, QingXu come to earth, forgive the crime and release spirits who have atoned for their sinsThe story about bon（目連救母） According to the “Tripitaka” (大藏經(jīng))，MuLian went through untold hardships in the underworld, and

3、saw his mothers soul suffering from hungry ghosts. He gave a jar with full of food to his mother, but the food was burning by the fire in his mothers mouth. MuLian asked the Buddha for help.The Buddha was moved by his filial piety(孝), and gave the Bon(盂蘭盆經(jīng)) to MuLian. Then Mulian,on the 15th of July

4、, used a jar filled with fruit to worship Buddha and eliminate her mother sins finnally.The origin of the Zhongyuan Festival In the Buddhist ritual of India, Buddhists held the Obon(盂蘭盂蘭盆盆會) in order to recite their ancestors. The Bon(盂蘭盂蘭盆盆經(jīng)) in the Buddhist scriptures convey the concept of filial

5、piety(孝) and conform to the traditional ideas of China. Owing to this,the Obon and Zhongyuan Festival gradually combined into one. Custom of Zhongyuan Festival on July 15, people float River Lanterns to Pay homage to the dead . People used to make lanterns which made of wood colored paper. Then put

6、a candle in the lanterns. Let the candle light guide dead souls.People also pray for a good harvest. Spread the supplies into the fields. People ,after burning paper, cut colored paper into pieces ,and then wrapped in the crops.Development of Zhongyuan Festival Zhongyuan Festival is the product of l

7、ocal culture. In the Liang Dynasty，people had already held the festival.During the 1920s and 1940s, Zhongyuan Festival was more important than “Qixi, Ching Ming. In the 1950s, Zhongyuan Festival was still lively. But later,being considered to develop feudal superstition, it gradually marginalized.Du

8、ring the Cultural Revolution, in addition to Ching Ming Festival, all traditional festivals had been bannedAfter the reform and opening up, the traditional festivals gradually became more popular, but Zhongyuan Festival had still been neglected.On May 18, 2010, Zhong Yuan Festival was recorded into

9、the Intangible Cultural Heritage List.HALLOWEEN HALLOWEEN Halloween means Hallows Evening , It is the evening before All Hallows Day (now called All Saints Day) a Christian holiday, celebrated on the 1st of November. 天下圣徒之日on October 31st, Old Celtic peoples celebrated the festival of Samhain（薩溫節(jié)）,

10、which marked the beginning of winter and the Celtic New Year（just like our Spring Festival）. History traces Halloween back to the ancient religion of the Celtics(凱爾特人). origin on October 31st, People think the spirits of the died would come back and move freely looking for living bodies to possess.

11、Custom Afraid of evil spirits, the living dressed up in freaky, scary costumes Custom They made a big ruckus around the neighborhood hoping that the ghosts would leave in peace before midnight of the new year Some would also go from house to house, begging for soul cakes.In return they promised to pray for dead members of the donors families. Thats the origin of trick or treat.And people will make Pumpkin lanterns. Custom SummaryThough Halloween and Zhongyuan Festival ar