THE GHOST MONTH, GUI YUE … THE SEVENTH LUNAR MONTH.
Do not be devout, for during this time the ghosts of hell will walk the earth. Do not be devout or it will be a dangerous time to travel. To go swimming. To get married. To move to a new house.
Do not be devout, for during this time if your husband should die, your wife, your father or your mother, if your brother, sister, or your own child should die … you shall not bury them. You will preserve the body for a funeral, a burial, a month later.
Long weeks. Longer days.
So many things not to do if you are devout. So many things to do if you are.
On the first and fifteenth days of the ghost month you will burn ghost money and incense … to appease, to pacify the spirits. On the first and fifteenth days of the ghost month you will prepare food, carefully, intricately, offerings to be placed on tables outside your home … to appease, to pacify the spirits. On the first and fifteenth days of the ghost month you will bathe, dress in your best clothes and visit the Taoist temple … to appease, to pacify the spirits.
Death, it is a sensitive issue. Do not talk of it … do not hint of it. Longevity, you talk of. Death is taboo. Be careful, so careful when pronouncing the number ‘four’ … in Chinese it sounds so like the word for death. Do not give a clock as a gift, it is a sure sign that somebody will die. Should you write a will, it will be impossible for you to find a witness to your signature upon it. If you give flowers, always give red flowers, never white … white, the colour associated with death. The purchasing of life insurance, this is to be avoided. And if you are to take a holiday or to move home, always seek out the many wonderful geographical names that litter the People’s Republic, as confetti does at a wedding. Happiness Valley. Paradise Road. Heaven’s Gateway. The Boulevard of a Thousand Joys. When visiting the United States of America, go to the many beautiful National Parks that the country has to offer. Except one, always avoiding one … Death Valley.
And on the seventh day of the seventh moon, falling during the heart of the ghost month … qingren jie, lovers day. Cards. Chocolate candies. Restaurants. A day of love in a month of ghosts.
Do not be devout … too devout. It may pass you by, the ghosts stealing it away.