Winter Solstice - Dongzhi Festival (冬至)

Today is the Winter Solstice Festival

The Dōngzhì Festival or Winter Solstice Festival is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the Dongzhi solar term (winter solstice) on or around December 22 when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest. It will occur on December 22 (East Asia time) in 2010.

Is also a time for the family to get together, to make and eat tangyuan (湯圓) or balls of glutinuous rice, which symbolize reunion. Tangyuan are made of glutinuous rice flour and somet in different type of coloured. Each family member receives at least one bowl of tangyuan.

Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is usually around late September or early October in the Gregorian calendar. It is a date that parallels the autumnal equinox of the solar calendar, when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the few most important holidays in the Chinese calendar, the others being Chinese New Year and Winter Solstice, and is a legal holiday in several countries. Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date. Traditionally on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomelos under the moon together. Accompanying the celebration, there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as:

Putting pomelo rinds on one's head
Carrying brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, floating sky lanterns
Burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang'e (嫦娥)
Planting Mid-Autumn trees
Collecting dandelion leaves and distributing them evenly among family members
Fire Dragon Dances
Shops selling mooncakes before the festival often display pictures of Chang'e floating to the moon.

7th Month Hungry Ghost Festival (中元节)

Today is the 1st day of Hungry Ghost Festival.

It is believed by the Chinese that during this month, the gates of hell are opened to free the hungry ghosts from Hell who would then wander to seek food on Earth.

The ‘Hungry Ghost festival' or the Feast for the Wandering Souls (also known as Zhong Yuan Jie 中元节) is for the Chinese, just as Halloween is for Americans.
Hungry Ghost festival is a popular occasion celebrated by the Chinese, both seniors and the younger generations alike. This festival falls on the 7th month of the lunar New Year, and is celebrated mainly in China and other countries like Singapore , Hong Kong & Malaysia. It is believed by the Chinese that during this month, the gates of hell are opened to free the hungry ghosts from Hell who would then wander to seek food on Earth. Some even think that the ghosts would seek revenge on those who had wronged them in their lives. The reason why the Chinese celebrate this festival is to remember their dead family members and pay tribute to them. They also feel that offering food to the deceased appeases them and wards off bad luck.



Celebration
Another belief among the Chinese is that the dead return to visit their living relatives during the 7th month (around August) and thus they prepare a sumptuous meal for the ‘hungry ghosts'. The Chinese feel that they have to satisfy the ghosts in order to get good fortune and luck in their lives.
During the 7th month, the Chinese offer prayers to the deceased relatives and burn joss sticks. In Singapore , it is a common sight to see entertaining 'wayang ' shows and concerts performed on outdoor stages in some neighborhoods. These events are always held at night. There is a belief that this entertainment would please those wandering ghosts . Often the front row of seats are reserved for the dead.



Superstitions
An interesting superstition that the Chinese have about the festival is that it is bad to go swimming during the 7th month. They think that an evil ghost might cause you to drown in the swimming pool. I remember my mother actually took a knife and punctured my inflatable boat when I insisted to bring it out to sea! In addition to this, children are also advised to return home early and not to wander around alone at night. This belief is due to the reason that the wandering ghosts might possess children.



Offerings to the Dead
The Chinese also do a lot of offerings to the deceased. These offerings are made by burning fake money notes, which are also known as ‘hell money' and even paper television or radio sets. Some families also burn paper houses & cars to give to their dead relatives. The Chinese feel that these offerings reach the ghosts and help them live comfortably in their world.
The Chinese regard the 15th of the lunar month as an important date to give a feast to the ghosts. On this date, the family will cook a lot of dishes and offer them to the deceased. This is done to please the ghosts and also to gain good luck for the family. 15 days after the feast, the festival will be over, as the Chinese believe that the ghosts return back to where they come from.