"Taiwan's Ghost Festival "

What is GHOST Festivals??

 Taiwan's have many different religious beliefs, the famous Ghost Festival, and other religious events. Like Halloween in the West, Taiwan's Ghost Festival is all about ghosts and spirits. 
However, in Taiwan a whole month is dedicated to the ghosts. According to local tradition, the seventh month of the lunar calendar is the Ghost Month. It is believed that at the beginning of this month the gates of the underworld are opened so that ghosts can return to this world. There are actually two major festivals in the Ghost Month - one Buddhist and the other Taoist. The Taoist one is called the Jhongyuan Festival while the Buddhist one is named the Ullambana Festival. Religious ceremonies are held around the island, involving offerings of food and drink, ritual dances and music, the chanting of Buddhist monks or Taoist priests, and the burning of spirit paper money.
These offerings are all believed to give a form of earthly enjoyment to the ghosts, as well as to help them ascend to heaven. These rituals are believed to please the dead, who will in turn bless the living with good fortune. During Ghost Month, most Taiwanese people avoid activities such as swimming, moving house, getting married and traveling in order to avoid the malign influence of those ghosts who may be hostile to the living. These attitudes towards the dead originate from ancestor worship, which is an important aspect of life for local people, even to this day.