 DaLunJiaoPu at Huwei |
In Taiwan and China, the 7th lunar month is the Month of Ghost, when the gate of hell will be opened for one month. On the fifth day of the 7th lunar month, people will offer the newly cropped grains to their ancestors; and the YuLanPen Day of Buddhism and the ChungYuan Day of Taoism are also on this day.
There are two ways of saying the origin of the ChungYuan Day, one is related to Taoism thought and the other is a story about Buddhism. Buddhists will go on a fast on this day to release souls from suffering. Meanwhile Taoists celebrate the birthday of DiGuenDaDi also on this day. So, Chung Yuan Day becomes the festival with two different religions’ customs.
At the beginning, the Chung Yuan Sacrifice in Huwei, it is only the local people gathering along the streets at the same time to offer sacrifice to those homeless and lonely ghosts. This kind of rite is actually like the one held by neighborhood or the temple, of which the purpose is to be friendly to the ghosts and release souls from suffering, and pray for the family going well and the business prospering.
And then, the Chung Yuan Sacrifice in Huwei was divided into seven regions in the whole town. From the first day of the 7th lunar month, each region starts to build up the altar known as PuTan and get ready incense burner tables. In recent years, along with the improvement of economy, the scale of the Chung Yuan Sacrifice in Huwei is becoming greater and greater and sacrificial offerings are richer and richer. As the night falls, the whole town is bathed in a sea of lanterns and in the sounds of song and dance. Today, the ChungYuan Sacrifice of Huwei has become a grand occasion of the town. |
| Transportation Information |
| Huwei Township |