Hey Susan, what are you coming as this year?
Coming as?
Yeah. . . for Halloween! We have a big office party tomorrow evening. There's a prize for best costume!
Um. . . I have to confess, I haven't given it much thought. I'm from China and Halloween really isn't celebrated there.
Really! You don't have some kind of Chinese ghost festival?
Oh. . . Sure. We have an entire month! In traditional Chinese culture, Ghost Month is a period when the door between this world and beyond opens up and ghosts come back to earth for a visit.
Cool! A whole month! What do you do during that month?
Well, people sometimes set off firecrackers, some people burn paper money as an offering and many people go to a temple to burn incense. Mainly though, you need to feed the ghosts because they're hungry.
Feed them?
Yeah. . . we set up tables with food, fruit and drinks and offer that to the hungry ghosts.
And then later everyone eats the food?
Yes! How did you guess that?
It makes sense, right? Who else is going to eat it?
Good Point!
But no dressing up like ghosts, right?
No! So. . . is Halloween essentially the same thing as ghost month?