A BOO in Taboo-- ten things you MUST NOT DO in ghost month

Turning back from the profound, religiously enriched origin of the month of the ghost, let us now take a look at what you should avoid doing - or at least know why people around you are doing what they are doing - during this agonizing 30 days.

Living among the ghosts, one naturally prefers to be left along by these unseen "friends" and would do with all measures to avoid provoking these "beings" with seemingly supernatural power to anger. As the festivity came from Buddhism and Taoism ritual practice, most of these rules of engagement also came from similar origin, expanded with folk lure superstitious, and tinted with more or less threats by scarring people into not doing anything believed to be dangerous and harmful.

After browsing through the website, I found what were commonly known as the Big Ten No No. Of course there are a lot more than just these Ten, but these Ten were also practiced during the non-ghostly seasons. Some of them actually make sense even to us non-believers. So let's take a look at this checklist.

1). DONOT stick chop sticks in the bowl of rice

Ok. First of all, it is a very rude and uncivilized behavior. For rude purposes, I personally practice the opposite several times but no harm is done (not even by the elders on the table). But enough about me. This is because the chop sticks shape like the incense during the offering. And sticking incenses in a bowl of rice is a gesture in making the offering to the deceased - especially the recently deceased, as this bowl of rice normally is placed either at the head or the feet of the deceased. By doing so on the dining table, you either evoke your own misfortune or curse someone at the table. It's especially rude when there are elders on the table. This is one of the rules that apply to all seasons and all occasions, and not just in the month of the ghost.

2). DONOT whistle at nighttime

Either with your mouth or with a whistle, blowing whistles at nighttime is believed to have the effect of summoning ghosts to gather in your direction. And not just whistle, the musical instruments such as pipes, flutes and the likes, are also believed to have the same effect. Basically you will be a piper that attracts ghosts to follow you home. This one also applies to all seasons. For one thing, either a whistle or a pipe/flute, it is quite annoying when you play in the middle of the night. You just might evoke something more concrete that would actually inflict real harm.

3). DONOT go to swim or play by the water

Yes. A very good suggestion also works for all seasons. This one actually has a direct link to the ghost month, and is mostly practiced during the same period of time. Ghosts not only exist on dry land, they also swamp the rivers, streams, and oceans. People who die from accidents are believed to need to find someone to take their places in order for them to go into the light. And since ghosts in the waters have much lower chances to get the substitutes, they are believed to be more aggressive than the ghosts on dry land. There are a lot of urban legends about a same spot (by the river or ocean) keeps having people drown on the same time (and some with almost identical scenario); there are also a lot of 'personal experience' how people escape by a mere inch from someone grabbing their angles and dragging them down into the depth of the waters. Although an eddy in the water or drifting plants also create the same illusion of grabbing and dragging, we do have some actually evidences showing people's angles with handgrip marks. But also thanks to this particular taboo, the month in which Lunar July falls receives the lowest fatality rates in water related accidents than other months in summer. Perhaps we should also extend this to all seasons?

4). DONOT eat the food offered to the ghosts

Plain and simple, since the food is offered to the ghosts, why not eat what is made for the living? It would be like grabbing the bone from a dog's mouth - why should you be surprised when the dog bites?

5). DONOT hang a wind charm on top of the bed

I used to have a wind charm hung on top of my bed, since there was also a window on top of my bed, I had first hand personal painful experience on this one. The nice crispy and soothing sounds of the charm sounded like a mourning bells in the middle of the night - especially when I was in REM sleep stage. This one is similar to whistling at nighttime, the effect of conjuring ghosts. But as a sensible person (who has faith in God) who really thinks a good sleeping quality is the key to humanly success, my advice is: DON'T do it.

6). DONOT linger in the dark and/or remote area at nighttime

This rule not only applies to all seasons but is also one of the key top ten guidelines to women self-defense and police patrol. Dark places and remote areas are not only the favorite spots for the ghosts, but also the playgrounds for the outlaws. So avoiding these places is always a good idea for a sensible behavior.

7). DONOT hang your laundry in the middle of the night

There is a sister-rule to this one, which is not to leave your laundry hung overnight. This means that by sun down, the laundry hung on the rails must be gathered down and put away. There are different sayings to this one, but the underlying belief is that the ghosts will cling on to the clothing left on the rails in order to further their steps into clinging on to the person who wears that cloth. Personally, I think that it's because most of the hanging fields are in vast empty places of the house, when laundry is left on the rails, they create illusions of figures dangling in mid air. It would look as if many "people" are floating in the air - same as what the ghosts are believed to be doing. But to avoid thieves snatching your favorite panties from Victoria's Secret, perhaps don't leave your laundry in the middle of the night is not such a bad idea.

8). DONOT pick up the red envelop or money left on the road

This one although also applies all year round, it has a much profound meaning to it. Perhaps it's a ritual practiced throughout the Asian regions, that when a man or woman dies before their time and is unwedded, the family will arrange a 冥Míng婚Hün, 'ghost wedding, for the deceased. Same as wanting to have their daughters or sons taken good care of by another, the family of the deceased also want the deceased to be merry with someone who would take good care of them. What they would do is that they would put a red envelop with money and the name of the deceased on the road and wait for the person to pick it up. Once the person picks it up, this person accepts the arrangement and is then obligated to take the hand of the deceased in marriage. If this person is lucky, the spouse will help him/her in all aspects, after all, a successful other half is the happiness of the spouse. But sometime, as a living human being, the deceased may want to be the one and only spouse and will do everything to prevent a "third party" to enter this "relationship". So to avoid any possibility, since there is no divorce to a ghost, don't pick up anything from the road unless it's something fells out of your own pocket.

9). DONOT speak or think disrespectful words/thoughts when passing by a funeral

There are also a lot of urban legends connecting to this one, such as so and so commenting on the beauty of a deceased, and he was seen spending the nights with the deceased until he died from exhaustion. Or so and so hurled insults on the deceased and the deceased haunted him/her and made the life miserable until an apology was made. But in the world alike, people pay respect to the deceased by not talking ill of them. After all, whatever a person did in his/her lifetime, this person could no longer carry it on. Hence bad mouthing this person would only arouse the bad memory connecting to this person, and the living would never be freed from the influence. So let bygones be bygones and let everything like water under the bridge. Let both the deceased and the living be rest in peace.

10). DONOT tremble on the paper money

The paper money here is not the money we use daily. This type of money is call 冥Míng纸Zhĭ or 冥Míng钱Qíen, the ghost money, the currency circulates only in the ghostly world. It is made of paper, cut into square shape. There are different types of ghost money, but roughly divided into those that are used as offering to gods (金Jïng纸Zhĭ ,gold paper, the paper will be tinted in gold color); and those that are for the deceased (银Yíng纸Zhĭ, silver paper, can be identified by a smaller square sheet of silver paper on the top deck). As these paper money is the currency circulating in the afterworld, similar to the currency circulating in the living world - you respect it, not step all over it.

extened reading:

It's midnight, do you know WHAT you are sleeping with?