Ullambana Festival

The Ullambana Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, is a significant Buddhist and Daoist holiday celebrated in East and Southeast Asia, particularly in areas with Chinese cultural influence. It falls on the 15th day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, typically in July or August.1

The festival's origins are rooted in Buddhist beliefs about hungry ghosts (Sanskrit: pretas), beings who are perpetually hungry and suffer due to negative karma. A key story from the Yulanpen Sutra tells of Maudgalyayana, a disciple of the Buddha, who sought to help his mother, reborn as a hungry ghost. The Buddha advised that offerings made by the monastic community on the 15th day of the seventh month could free the deceased from suffering.1

Practices include making offerings of food, burning paper money and handicrafts, and lighting incense to appease the ghosts and transfer merit. In Japan, the festival is known as Bon, and in Vietnam as Vu Lan, with variations in customs and emphasis. The festival also serves to honor ancestors and is observed with cultural festivities like lantern lighting and parades.12