‘Don’t kill it, it’s grandpa’: Hong Kong woman says mother believes visiting moths are spirits of dead relatives during Ching Ming Festival
- A woman posted on a Hong Kong online forum about her mother driving her crazy by letting insects into their home during the Ching Ming Festival
- The belief that the spirits of recently deceased relatives return in the form of moths or butterflies is common in Chinese folk culture
A Hong Kong woman has ranted online about her mother driving her crazy by letting “giant” moths fly around their apartment in the belief they are the spirits of deceased relatives. The post, reported by HK01, has been viewed by more than 10,000 people.
The woman, who goes by the user name @Taodangjen, posted her frustrations on the Hong Kong Discuss Forum on March 22, two weeks before the Ching Ming Festival, also known as tomb-sweeping day, and complained that her mother was “so superstitious”.
She said she and her sister were scared of flying insects, but their mother banned them from killing the “giant” moths, claiming they were their late grandfather visiting them.
Her mother worried that if they killed the moths, they would be shamed while sweeping the tombs of their ancestors during the Ching Ming Festival.
Despite being “almost driven crazy” by the flying insects, the woman and her sister said they had to put up with the moths all night before they finally flew away.
“If we find insects flying into our home every day, do we assume all of them are the spirits of my grandpa?” the woman asked rhetorically in her post.
The mother’s belief is common in traditional Chinese folk culture that believes the spirits of recently deceased relatives return in the form of moths or butterflies to check on their family.
The belief was popularised in classic Chinese folk tales like The Butterfly Lovers. The Tang dynasty period story is about a couple whose spirits were transformed into butterflies after dying from broken hearts when they were separated by an arranged marriage.
Some responses to the post pointed out that flying insects are often attracted to the lights and candles in mourning halls when people hold vigils for deceased relatives.
While the woman’s complaint about superstitious and outdated beliefs resonated with some, others shared their own “miracle” experiences with visiting insects and animals and said it’s OK to interpret such encounters in a harmless and romantic way.
“Elders in my family also make this claim yearly around Ching Ming Festival. I don’t believe in it, though,” said one person.
“Moths never flew into my home, but on the evening my sister got married, it was the first and only time a moth visited. My mum said it was our grandma,” said another commenter.
In March, mainland Chinese social media was impressed by a parrot in eastern China’s Jiangsu province that walked around the tomb of a person’s father during his funeral and would not leave, despite their attempts to drive it away. Many who read the story claimed the bird must have carried the man’s spirit.
