Do you know why the lunar July is called 'the month of the soul'?

According to the folklore concept, in the seventh lunar month is the most frightening month of the year. Because this month there will be a lot of demons going out, so it is often called 'the month of the soul, open the door or the mourning of death '. This call originated from a long time ago, so far people still use each other's ear but few understand the meaning.

From the point of view of Taoism, soul worship is rooted in ancient China. Folk legend says that from July 2, Yan Wang ordered the opening of Devil Mon Guan and to the full moon in July, "release the door" to let the demons spread into the four directions, after 12 pm on July 14 The end and the demons have to go back to hell.

Since ancient times, we Vietnamese people have conceived that people have two parts that are soul and body. Depending on when you are alive and the things that the person leads to the loss, the soul will separate from the body but be reincarnated into another life or go to hell, even wandering to harass ordinary people. And continue to worship the soul from there.

In this seventh lunar month, many people think that in these days, there are many hungry and abandoned demons wandering around, so every family will prepare rice, porridge, salt to bribing these spirits in the hope that they will not be disturbed by the daily life of their families, as well as helping these spirits to have a full day of eating and drinking. These Vietnamese people's actions are spiritual and cultural in order to connect and show the humanity between the living and the deceased, as well as the notion of sins: people who have committed crimes whatsoever, in the process of being punished, karmic retribution, there is also a day of sins, to support suffering, pain .

In China, the worship of spirits was performed on the 14th day of the lunar month, while in Vietnam, this time lasted for a whole month, not necessarily full moon day. The day of soul offerings may depend on each family, different regions.

In addition, many people have the notion that 'there is a sacred church, a good abstinence', therefore, in this 'month of the soul or amnesty' this is the month of evil, so there is no luck, therefore, people often communicate each other about taboos such as not letting the wind chimes in front of the bed, going to the night without calling their real names, not taking photos at night . Besides, as well as avoiding doing big things In these months, such as marriage, construction start, shopping, far away . Abstain from doing big things in July is a habit, a habit deeply embedded in the East Asian consciousness. However, experts believe that these concepts do not have a scientific basis, therefore, people should not be too far-fetched, superstitious, extreme to confuse themselves.

In this seventh lunar month, in addition to offering souls, Vietnamese people also have a very important holiday which is Vu Lan ceremony or Vu Lan leopard ceremony, this is a very big holiday. for those who follow Buddhism.