The Hungry Ghost Festival

Today we will be looking into Asia for our study on different cultures and their way of dealing with the departed.

In traditional Chinese belief, restless spirits are let out of hell to roam the earth on the first day of the 7^th month of the lunar calendar. It is thought that some of the ghosts may be angry or malicious and many fearful people avoid swimming or being alone at night to protect themselves. Most people see it as a day to ease the suffering of the deceased. In order to appease these ghosts and to honour their own ancestors, there are particular traditions to uphold on the 1^st & 15^th and the last day of what is called “The Hungry Ghost Month”.

The first day of the month, people want to guide and help the dead and they burn make-believe money outside their homes and businesses, or along the sides of roads or fields. This way the departed have the necessary funds to get around in the realm of the living. They don’t want their ancestors to go hungry or thirsty so they put out offerings of food and drink as well as light incense and put out their ancestral tablets to appease the spirits. Red painted paper lanterns are hung everywhere to help show the way. Ceremonies are held in temples, markets and in homes.

On the 15^th day, there are huge feasts put on in people’s homes and there is always an empty chair set for the most recently departed family member. All over the country there are live performances put on. Opera has been the main source of entertainment but in recent years, newer type shows and concerts also occur. Usually there is very loud music and the shows are held at night as people believe the ghosts are attracted by both the dark and the loud sounds.

On the last day of the festival, lotus flower shaped lighted lanterns are set into paper boats and floated in lakes or rivers to help guide the deceased back to the underworld. If the people are not near water, they set the lighted lanterns outside their homes. Once all of these lanterns have gone out, it symbolizes that the departed have found their way back.

There are rules to be obeyed during this most sacred month.

• Don’t stroll at night.
• Don’t swim or a you could be possessed by an evil ghost that drowned.
• Don’t move to a new house, start a new business or marry in this month.
• Don’t hang clothes out at night.
• Never pick up or bring home any money or coins you find in the street in this month.
• Be sure you do not disturb any roadside offering by stepping on or kicking them. If you do, you must apologize loudly.
• Ghosts are attracted to red, so don’t wear that during the month.
• Ghosts are attracted to loud music so don’t sing or whistle when you are alone.
• Ghost like sticking to walls so keep your distance.
• If you happen to be born in this month only celebrate your birthday during the day.
• Do not go out at midnight without food and other offerings in case the ghosts approach you.

           

While this special month has always had deep religious significance, in modern society it has evolved more into a way to honour their ancestors and feel close to much missed love ones again.

In 2016, the 15^th day of the 7^th lunar month falls on August 17^th.

{Reference sources: discoverhongkong.com; chinahighlights.com; Wikipedia.org/wiki/ghost-festival}

Araw Ng Mga Patay, Day of the Dead Traditions in the Philippines

Many countries celebrate and honour their deceased loved ones in very traditional ways. My previous blog dealt with the Mexican tradition of Dia De Los Muertos . In the next few blogs, I will share some other traditions.

     Araw Ng Mga Patay is celebrated in the Philippines on November 1 & 2.  This name literally translates to “Day of the Dead”.  This celebration is also known by the name Todos los Santos and also All Saint’s Day as it coincides with the Catholic holiday of the same name. Mostly though, it is referred to as Undas. 

Similar in style to the Dia De Los Muertos, in the Philippines people gather at the cemetery to honour their loved one’s memories. Often the occasion is marked as a reunion of families and they bring food and drink and camp out all day or even overnight. They bring flowers, candles and offerings of food and drink for the deceased. While some find the moment a time of solemn refection, mostly it is treated with a party atmosphere where the people dance, laugh, share stories, and some even get quit drunk.

This is an official state-recognised holiday so people get time off from work and school to attend. Often a family member will go the grave a day or 2 beforehand in order to tidy up so that the gravesite is clean and presentable when everyone else will be there to see it.

There is also a tradition called Pangangaluluwa which occurs on All Saints Day Eve. A group of people will stop by different house throughout the night, singing and asking for alms and prayers. They represent the souls of those who are stuck in purgatory and they are asking the living to offer prayers to help them get into heaven.

The top 3 holidays in the Philippines are Easter (Holy Week), Christmas and Undas.

Source material: http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php/Undas

                           http://liveinthephilippines.com/content/araw-ng-mga-patay/

Día de los Muertos, the Mexican Day of the Dead

Photo Credit: Ken Lee Photography

 Many people today mistakenly believe that that the Day of the Dead festival is just another version of Halloween and is all about partying and/or getting candy. This is not entirely true. The origins of this traditional holiday have a deeper meaning.

Los Dias de los Muertos, or the Mexican Days of the Dead Festival, shares some of its origins with Halloween. And some of the practices today are also similar, from decorating with pictures of skeletons, to ghoulishly shaped sweets. But Los Dias de los Muertos, which may be one of Mexico’s best-known holidays, is also a blending of the European traditions brought by the invading Spanish conquistadors and the Aztec and Mayan peoples who were the inhabitants of much of Central America before the arrival of the Spanish.

The Aztecs’ Festival of the Dead was not a day-long or week-long celebration, but went on for nearly two months in which the fall harvest was celebrated and death was honoured. The festival was presided over by the goddess known as Mictecacihuatl, or the Lady of the Dead. Over the course of the festivities participants would create offerings for the dead such as foods, alcohol, flowers and ceramics.

Aztecs and Mayans both believed that one day of the year the souls of the departed would return to the realm of the living, where they could visit their families and loved ones. With the arrival of the Spanish, and Catholicism, the new rulers of Mexico attempted to marshal the fiestas dedicated to the dead under the auspices of All Saints Day (November 1st) and All Souls Day (November 2nd). The dates of these two Catholic holidays are now celebrated in Mexico as Los Dias de los Muertos.

This fiesta is marked by the invitation by the living to the dead to return to their family home for a visit. Families place photographs of their loved ones who have passed on at the deceased’s grave site or on a family altar. They also place offerings of flowers, drinks and food alongside the photographs. This ritual is particularly important for those who have been lost in the year since the previous festival, and is a way of coming to terms with the death of someone loved and missed.

Extended families will often meet in the cemeteries on the evening of the festival, and will collect together at the grave site of a recently deceased relative. The family may keep vigil through the night, all the time eating the foods they have made in preparation for the fiesta, visiting with their relatives, and praying for all the members of the family, alive and dead.

The preparation of the altar is an integral part of this fiesta, and some of the objects that are prepared especially for the altar have become a familiar sight to many outside of Mexico. Altars are often decorated with flowers, whose brief life span is meant to be a reminder of the brevity of all life. Brightly coloured and intricately cut tissue paper festoon the altar, waving like multi-coloured flags. Sweets, fruits, and other foods are joined by the staples: bread, salt, and water. Grooming supplies, such as a washbasin and soap, are provided for the spirits to tidy themselves after their long journey. Finally, the well-known Calaveras statues depicting skeletons participating in the activities of the living- from cooking to playing in mariachi bands- take their place on the altar, where their comic appearance brings a smile to the faces of the grieving.

There are 2 distinct nights of celebration with this holiday. At midnight of October 31, it is believed the gates of Heaven are opened and the spirits of all deceased children are allowed to reunite with their families so toys and sweets are left for them. On November 2, cigarettes and shots of Mezcal are offered to the adult spirits.

This celebration is not treated casually or lightly. It can be a very expensive undertaking for families to honour their dead. Some families spend upwards of 2 months’ salary to show, what they believe, is proper respect. In turn, they believe that the spirts will honour them with good luck, protection and happiness. The townsfolk gather together, sharing stories of those passed on, remembering good times, sharing laughs, sharing food. This interaction keeps the people close and makes for a harmonious life the whole year long.

Perhaps the recent popularity of different aspects this festival in Western society have come about because we don’t really have a way to celebrate and honour our dead. In our society, death has been treated as an end to a person’s life and must be met with solemn stoicism and kept hidden away. We seem to feel that we must not tell silly stories or laugh about things the departed did while alive. As if, that is being disrespectful to their memory.

Now, with more information becoming available about other countries’ views on death, we realise that it is okay to openly enjoy a departed loved one’s memory.  We can laugh and share and enjoy what they mean to us.

As with any form of celebration, different aspects of it will filter over into other times of the year. The colourful style of dress, the masks and the specific imagery of the sugar skulls are all used for party decorations and home décor. Some people think this will show disrespect to the Mexican people but I disagree. As long as you are not mocking them or their beliefs, I believe, we should all embrace this colourful and vibrate style of expression. There is no disrespect by spreading joy and happiness at any time of the year.

{Sources of information for this article are: mexicansugarskull.com; http://mashable.com/2015/10/30/celebrations-for-the-dead;

http://edsitement.neh.gov/not-just-halloween-festivals-dead-around-world}

The Celebration of death

There are many ways that death is celebrated around the world. Some view it as something to hide away from and not to be talked about, while others revel in the life of the person who has died. For some there is a strong organised religious connection and for some the spirituality is based more on the soul of the departed rather than an assigned religious ideal.

Most every country has its own beliefs and traditions and in the past, the citizens of those countries were brought up with only those beliefs. But, as the world has grown and progressed we have become a global network of shared ideas and beliefs.  Nowadays, people learn so much about other ways of dealing with death and a lot of people are embracing this information and finding their own path of beliefs.

Every country has its own name for the festivals to honor the dead. To list just a very few, In Mexico there is the well-known “Dia del los Muertos”; in Hati there is the “Fet Gede”; in Cambodia there is “Pchum Ben”; in Madagascar there is “Famadihana” and in the western world there is the tradition of Halloween/All Souls Day.

Each of these holidays/festivals are deeply rooted in tradition and custom. Some, like Dia del los Muertos, have become accepted almost everywhere in the world as more of a party excuse rather than honoring the departed. While it is good to enjoy other countries traditions, we must be sure to explore more into the true meanings and rituals of these beliefs so that we can be respectful in our adaptations.

In future blog posts I will endeavor to share some information on these different celebrations. A well informed mind is one that can see the world freely and is accepting of all within. 

The Skull Queen Times Introductions...

Welcome to the inaugural edition of SKULL LADY blog. Let me start by introducing myself and telling you a bit about this blog.

My name is Carolyn. I own a skull themed store called Skull Emporium. The physical store is situated at Shop 3/ 1 Lae Street, Beenleigh, Queensland, Australia and there is a website, www.skullemporium.com.au and I have a Facebook page and a Facebook community.

The shop and everything linked to it is based on a love of skulls. And, boy, do I have that! I don’t know about you, but my house is full of skulls. Sugar skulls, gothic skulls, funny skulls, precious skulls….do you see a theme running here???

I love skulls so much I decided to set up a Facebook store and had very positive feedback on that. So then the next step was going to weekend markets to sell my wares and after a few months, it was time to look for a permanent shop for the store.

After a bit of searching, I found just the right location and, as they say, history was made. It took a lot of effort to get the shop ready and running and I couldn’t have done it alone. My adorable husband, daughter and her partner have all jumped on board to help me with this huge endeavour. Believe me when I say there is so much more behind the scenes to running a store than anyone would realize.

So now the store is going along nicely. More and more people are getting to know us and there has only been positive feedback from everyone. It really is amazing how diverse our clientele is. There truly is no age, gender or background limit. Everyone knows someone who likes skulls. And we are hoping to meet them all. Lol.

The purpose of this blog is to share thoughts, ideas, articles and information…all about skulls, naturally!!  I will also keep you up-to-date on things that are happening in the shop, any events or weekend markets we are attending, when we have contests or photo shoots we have on. Just about everything really.

We have a handsome resident skeleton that goes by the name of Mr Bone Jangles. The tale of who he is and his adventures can be found on our Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/skullemporium/?ref=bookmarks.

And also in his own blog on the website. Check it out. It is very exciting!!

So that is the basic housekeeping for this blog. I hope I have intrigued all of you and I look forward to exploring this skulltastic road together….