Western Halloween and Chinese Ghost Festival are not just different in their names
Halloween is coming.
Frank the tour guide reads posts about decoration ideas for Halloween and compares the Western Halloween with Chinese Ghost Festival.
Actually their duration, aim, ceremony, customs and decoration are very different.
Differences between Western Halloween and Chinese Ghost Festival
Frank is going to share the differences between the Western Halloween and Chinese Ghost Festival in this post.
Frank can share more differences between Chinese and Western culture with clients during his private car tour in Hong Kong, where East meets West harmoniously!
Different duration, aim, ceremony, customs and decoration between the Western Halloween and Chinese Ghost Festival
The Western Halloween’s duration is short.
Ghosts can enjoy freedom for one day only!
Although the exact date of Chinese Ghost Festival is in the mid-July in the Chinese Lunar Calendar, ghosts in Chinese culture can enjoy freedom for about a month!
So Chinese mostly won’t get merry and renovate their homes in the 7th month of Chinese calendar to avoid bad luck.
At first, during Halloween, Westerners aim at expelling the ghosts by wearing the masks to scare them. (although now the Halloween is mostly for fun!)
Halloween is coming
However, Chinese goal in Ghost Festival is to respect and appease the lonely and hungry ghosts.
Thus people burn paper money and offer cold food (ghost cannot eat hot food!) for them on the street.
People are offering paper money and food for hungry ghosts on the street
Woman is worshipping the ghosts on the street.
Halloween now is mostly a carnival in the West. People dress up like ghosts, vampires, skulls to intimidate the spirits.
Chinese Buddhist and Taoist religious groups in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan have the big Ghost Festival ceremony to placate the lonely and hungry ghosts after getting donations from the public.
Altar for the ghost festival ceremony
Participants think that they are having a ceremony for the ghosts.
There are real foods, paper clothes etc. waiting for the ghosts at the venue.
The King of Ghosts with black face is for managing the lonely and hungry ghosts, which may be naughty and don’t follow disciplines, at the ceremony. The King of Ghosts is actually the incarnation of Goddess of Mercy.
The Chinese opera music performance at the venue is for the ghosts to enjoy in theory.
Chinese opera music performance is for the ghosts in theory
Western kids have trick-or-treating custom to ask for candy house after house.
For Chinese, the Ghost Festival customs are mostly the taboos.
Chinese are unwilling to get out in the Ghost Festival Month in the evening to avoid contact with the spirits.
During Halloween, the price for pumpkin may rise because Westerners use it to decorate their homes.
Pumpkin decoration for Halloween
Chinese use pumpkin to make the delicious dessert, but that is not related to the Ghost Festival and Chinese has no decoration for the Ghost Festival.
Delicious Pumpkin Dessert
Frank the tour guide shares differences between Chinese culture and Western culture with his clients during his private car tour
Chinese culture meets Western culture in the international city Hong Kong harmoniously.
Frank the tour guide is going to share the differences between Chinese culture and Western culture with his clients during his Hong Kong private car tour service.
Frank hopes he can serve you in 2021!
See amazing view of Victoria Harbor at Victoria Peak during our half day private car tour.
Visit beautiful Nan Lian Garden during Hong Kong Kowloon full day private car tour.
Visit the World heritage building, St Paul’s Ruins, during our full day Macau private car tour.
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