Ghost Month

The hardest part about returning to Taiwan is transition. Now, I live in constant state of transitioning, but the one when I come back always seems to be the hardest. Each year I land on the island I immediately notice the humidity and the language differences. After a while however I find I am missing my family, friends, and my car. Independence is a whole lot different when you don’t have a vehicle.

            One thing that happens soon after I get back is ghost month. It falls every year in the 7^th month of the Chinese calendar. Ghost month for our staff is a time of spiritual warfare and realized superstitions of the people here. It is a good reminder of how lost the people here are. The people here believe that it is our job to take care of your ancestors who dies before you. This is done through the bai-bai (pronounced bye-bye). The bai-bai happens 2 times a month on the 1^st and 15^th days according to the Chinese calendar. It involves setting up tables with food offerings and burning paper money to send it to those who have died.

            However, if you die before your parents (this is considered disrespectful) or if the dead are not properly cared for the spirit becomes a wandering spirit. It is believed that each year, during ghost month these wandering ghosts are allowed to wander the earth for a whole month. People set out offerings and burn money regularly to keep these ghosts fed and happy so that they will not be haunted. The people also avoid a number of other activities to keep away from these ghosts as well. These activities include: swimming, moving, buying any large items (like a car) and opening a business. Not everyone believes this, but almost everyone does this for the security they feel it provides. (To read more about ghost month click Here)

            To me this is the reminder that I am not in the US anymore. It’s like a great big wake up call to what I doing here. I am here to show my students the love of God and how he can break the chains of these beliefs and fears. Hopefully this can not only impact them, but their families. If you pray, pray for those I am working with, that we can show God’s love to our students and their families as well as to the locals around us. Pray for a country that is bound to fear and shame.

 

For a visual, here is a Video about ghost month in Taiwan. I also want to note that many of these businesses allow these things to happen because they see it as cultural, not religious. To me, it does not mean that the business is in support of the belief, just that the business does not see a difference in religious beliefs and Asian culture.

                                           Offering table outside of someone's house

                   People stopped driving to burn paper money (Sorry for the bad picture, this was actually in the middle of an intersection and we were trying to safely get around this unforeseen obstacle)