Superstitious thoughts are always in people’s life in spite of scientific and technological advancement. Hungry Ghost Festival in China and Halloween in the western countries are two religious festivals which are observed every year. They reveal people’s idea about the ghosts and spirits after death. They also include doctrines which imprison people’s minds and thoughts. Therefore, people show different religious briefs. This thesis mainly talks about the origin and celebrations of the two festivals, and sums up the kinds of superstitions in China and some western countries, and analyze the influence of superstitions, three religious ideas about death and spirits from Buddhism, Taoism, Christian. The author thinks that people should promote scientific views and remove superstitions.
Contents
Abstract..........................................................................I
Key Words ........................................................................I
摘 要 .......................................................................... Ⅱ
关键词 .......................................................................... Ⅱ
Introduction .....................................................................1
I. Halloween and Hungry Ghost Festival............................................2
A The Origin and Present Celebration of Halloween. .............................2
B. The Origin and Present Celebration of Hungry Ghost Festival .................3
II. Superstitious Thoughts of People..............................................5
A. Some Common Superstitions around the World.................................. 5
B. Superstition in Western Countries ...........................................6
C. Superstition in China....................................................... 7
1. “Feng Shui”.............................................................. 7
2. “Ren Qi” .................................................................8
3. Temples ................................................................... 8
4. Other Superstitions........................................................ 9
D. Influence of Superstition................................................... 9
III. Religious Ideas ............................................................ 11
A. The Views of Christianity about Death and Spirits........................... 11
B. The Views of Buddhism and Taoism about Ghost and God ........................12
IV. Promoting Scientific Views and Removing Superstitions ........................13
Conclusion .......................................................................15
Acknowledgements..................................................................16
Bibliography .....................................................................17
