Editor's note: Here's part two of Kristina Wojtaszek's darkly (well) detailed series on macabre traditions all over the world. Honoring the dead is in the spotlight this time, and Kristina takes readers all over the nether world in this post.
Kristina's short story, "Cinder," is one of 13 in an anthology recently published by World Weaver Press called Specter Spectacular: Thirteen Ghostly Tales. For a peek at Kristina's tale, which I have read and thoroughly enjoyed, click here.
Several rows of "empty" chairs are placed before live
performances in China during the Hungry Ghost Festival. These are reserved for
the dead, who return through the open gates of the underworld--with an
appetite. Some of the spirits have necks stretched thin and pine for food, as
well as every other part of a life left behind. Once burned in offering, Joss
paper (made from bamboo or rice) can be used as money or objects in the
afterlife. Joss paper can be formed into everything from toothbrushes to sports
cars. At the end of this month-long festival, lotus-shaped paper lanterns are
set to float away, leading the ghosts back to their former realms.
Every culture, every country, has its stories and traditions
gathered around ghosts. Even in the skeptical U.S. we take part in holidays
that have pagan roots in paranormal legends. Halloween is in fact a remnant of
the Gaelic harvest festival Samhain, celebrated on the last day of autumn,
during which the world of spirits was believed to be closer to the physical
earth than at any other time of year. Mexico's Day of the Dead is probably the
most well known spectral celebration that persists today. The day before All
Souls' Day (celebrated on November 2 by Roman Catholics) Mexican families
gather together to welcome home their deceased relatives, who settle in the
mountain pines in the guise of monarchs. Baron Samedi, the god of death in
Haitian culture, receives offerings of spiced alcohol after loud music is
played to awaken him during the holiday of Ghede, which also occurs in
conjunction with All Souls' Day.
Saint Giles--His Bells, by Charles Altamont Doyle |
Much like the Day of the Dead, the Obon or Bon Festival in Japan
is a Buddhist holiday during which families assemble to clean and care for
grave sites, and the spirits of the departed are expected at the family alter.
During Pitru Paksha in India, prayers and food offerings are made to the last
three generations of lost loved ones in order to help them cross over to
heaven. Rather than butterflies, their departed are said to appear as crows to
except their offerings. In Nepal, ghosts are lead to the afterlife by cows in
the Gai Jatra. After this somber procession comes a time for merriment with
costumes and satire. Rather than dressing up themselves, during Bolivia's
Festival of Skulls it is the skulls that are decorated and given gifts, such as
cigars tucked between their teeth. In return, the dead reward their relatives
with blessings. Wrestling matches are often a part of the celebrations in
Korea's Chuseok festival. Celebrated during the fall, offerings of the harvest
are made to the dead in thanksgiving for a bountiful year. In Sicily, the
children who pray for the souls of the departed leave their shoes out, hoping
for sweets and toys left by the ‘muorti’ (the dead), helping them to hold onto
memories of lost loved ones.
Even more universal than fear, it seems that celebration, dance
and offerings are in order to honor the dead. As the medieval Dance of Death
showed to celebrants each year, death is undeterred by belief, class or
culture; death unites all.
Kristina Wojtaszek grew up as a woodland sprite and mermaid,
playing around the shores of Lake Michigan. At any given time she could be
found with live snakes tangled in her hair and worn out shoes filled with sand.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Management as an excuse to spend her
days lost in the woods with a book in hand. She currently resides in the high
desert country of Wyoming with her husband and two small children. She is
fascinated by fairy tales and fantasy and her favorite haunts are libraries and
cemeteries. Follow her @KristinaWojtasz or on her blog, Twice Upon a
Time.
2 comments:
Oh my gosh! Joss papers folded into different objects...how could I have forgotten that part of my youth? I spent many happy hours with my Amah and her rituals.
The Chinese also have a Obon type festival (Ching Ming Festival). When I lived in Hong Kong, I looked forward to it...always a fun outing to the grave sites with the entire extended family (it was never a sad event). And, oh!, the food. Pretty much every festival was associated with food which could explain why I'm foodie now. :}
Thanks for bringing back some wonderful childhood memories for me!
These festivals all sound like comforting ways to remember and celebrate our loved ones. Thanks for sharing!
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