Scared Taiwan owner shuts shop on first day of Hungry Ghost Festival, triggers hilarity online
Month-long festival sees series of superstitious ghostly customs play out, but younger generation is turning tables on traditional taboos
Two shops in Taiwan which closed their doors on the first day of China’s Ghost Month have sparked much humorous discussion about superstition during the special period.
The month-long Hungry Ghost Festival falls in the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar. This year, it runs from August 23 to September 21.
It is believed that the gates of hell open at the turn of the first day of the Ghost Month and close when the last day of the month is over.
Ghosts, including the ancestors of the living and so-called hungry ghosts, or phantoms that are not given offerings, visit the world of the living during the month.
It is believed that the yin, or dark and passive energy, is especially strong on the gate-opening day and the 15th day of the Ghost Month.