The Case for Ghost Month: Why We Should Be Celebrating It In America
All Hallows Eve
In the west, we celebrate Halloween every October 31st. This is a day when it is believed that the walls between the worlds of the living and the dead are at their thinnest; When spirits on the other side are able to cross over into the world of the living.
Children don their disguises and walk door to door to get treats from neighbors. They knock on the neighbor’s door and shout “Trick or Treat” — but they rarely have to use tricks, as the treats are usually flowing.
Adults celebrate by getting in costume and heading to Halloween parties. Last year, we spent over $10 billion on Halloween in the United States alone. And that number increases every year.
Me? I’m what you might call a Halloween Activist. I’m always pushing for more people to celebrate Halloween, to decorate their houses and yards for the occasion, etc. I even created a huge public Halloween event that I’ve held several times.
There are many equivalent events to Halloween in different areas around our planet (such as Dia de Muertos), and many coincide with the late October / early November time frame of Halloween. But… not all.
That’s where Ghost Month comes in.
Enter: An Entire Month Of Ghosts
Every year, in the 7th Lunar Month, a plethora of Asian countries celebrate Hungry Ghost Month, aka: Ghost Month. It’s a 30 day celebration with spiritual roots similar to Halloween, in that it is believed that the 7th Lunar Month is when the walls between our worlds are thinnest, and this is when spirits are allowed to come into the world of the living. With Ghost Month, this occurs because the King of Hell opens the Gates of Hell to allow these spirits their 30 day reprieve.
Where Ghost Month differs is that these spirits are returning not just to hang out, but to eat food, be entertained, and be taken care of by their living relatives. This is done with offerings, festivals, entertainment, rituals, and an entire variety of events that take place over the 30 days of Ghost Month.
But, it’s not all good. Much like our Halloween, there are also evil spirits who roam our world in this period, and Ghost Month gives you an entire list of rules to stick to in order to avoid being overtaken by one of these bad spirits.
For example, you should avoid wearing the color red during this period, as ghosts are attracted to this color, and you do not want to accidentally bring one home with you. As well, in front of stages for public performances and concerts, you will likely see a row of red seats. These are for ghosts. Do not sit in one of these unless you want to anger a ghost who intends to use the chair.
There are events and rituals from day 1 all the way through day 30 of Ghost Month. But, the high point of the month is on the 15th day, which is called Ghost Festival. This is the day when the biggest public celebrations, performances, rituals and street festivals occur, as well as the day that we are most at danger from any evil spirits that may have come to seek out living human bodies to appropriate. And it goes without saying that this makes it the most fun day of Ghost Month.
But, that’s not to say that you shouldn’t observe the spiritual seriousness of the month as well. Halloween has serious roots, as does Dia de Muertos and every other similar celebration, most of them honoring those who we’ve lost. This applies to Ghost Month as well. You can have the entertainment, just as long as you don’t disrespect the roots.
Halloween in July?
Think about how long you wait to celebrate Halloween every year. Most Halloween fans I know are counting down the days constantly, and feel like a decade has passed before they see Halloween again.
What if you didn’t have to wait an entire year to celebrate? What if you could do it again in July or August instead of waiting for the end of October? And what if you could spend an entire month celebrating instead of just one night? And… in warm weather?
We can do that. It’s called Ghost Month. Just think — Every Summer, we have a month-long Halloween-style celebration filled with events, festivals, concerts and entertainment, and then we still get to do Halloween on October 31st.
I’m ready. Are you?
— Mikal
