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CHINESE FESTIVALS, FASTS, AND OBSERVANCES.
term, "great heat"; sun enters Leo. 24th.-Fête day of Liu Hai, a Tauist philosopher. 25th.-The spirits report to Heaven. 26th.-Fête day of the dragon spirits of wells and subterranean watercourses. 28th.-Fête day of Lu Pan, the god of carpenters and masons. 29th.-Fifteenth day of the sixth moon. 30th.-Second decade of heat commences.
AUGUST.-2nd.-Fête day of Kwan Yin, the goddess of mercy. 4th.-Fête day of the Tauist god of horses. 6th.-The spirits report to Heaven. Day of general abstinence. 7th.-Fête day of Kwan Ti, the god of war, and of Wan, a deified Tauist priest, also of Chuh Yung, the spirit of fire, and of the god of thunder. 8th.-Solar term, "autumn sets in"; sun in Leo. 9tb.-Fête day of I Lang, builder of a canal, also of Hü, a Tauist patriarch. 12th.-Fête day of the star gods of Ursa Minor. Auspicious day for fasting and prayer. 14th.-First day of the seventh moon. During this moon is held the festival of "All Souls," when Buddhist and Tauist priests read masses to release souls from purgatory, scatter rice to feed starving ghosts, recite magic incantations accompanied by finger play imitating mystic Sanskrit characters which are supposed to comfort souls in purgatory, burn paper clothes for the benefit of the souls of the drowned, and visit family shrines to pray on behalf of the deceased members of the family. Exhibitions of groups of statuettes, dwarf plants, silk festoons, and ancestral tablets are combined with these ceremonies, which are enlivened by music and fireworks. Fête day of Lao Tszu, the founder of Tauiem. 20th.-Fête day of Cheng, a Confucian commentator, and of the Tauist god of Ursa Major, also of the seven goddesses of Pleiades worshipped by women. The spirits report to Heaven. 22nd.-Death of an Empress. 23rd.-Solar term, "settled heat"; sun enters Virgo. Death of an Empress. 25th.-Fête day of Chang Ch'un, a deified physician. 28th.-Fifteenth day of the seventh moon. Day of general abstinence. Fête day of Chung Yuen, Tauist god of the element earth, also of Chang Kwoh, one of the eight immortals. 30th.-Death of the Emperor Hien Fêng (A.D. 1861). 31st.-Fête day of the three Tauist gods of heaven, earth, and water, and of the five spirits attending at sacrifices.
SEPTEMBER. Fête day of the regent of the planet Jupiter and of the 60 year gods. 2nd.-Fête day of Cheng, a Tauist patriarch. 3rd.-Fête day of P'u An, a deified Buddhist priest. 4th.-Fête day of the god of wealth. 5th. The spirits
5th.-The report to Heaven. 6th.-Fête day of Sheng Wang, tutelary god of walled cities, also of Chang, the Tauist god of parturition, and of Nagardjuna, the Buddhist philosopher. 7th.-Death of the Emperor Kia K'ing (A.D. 1821). Fête day of Hu, a Tauist eremite. 8th.-Solar term, "white dew"; sun in Virgo. 11th.- Fête day of Ti-ts'ang-wang, Tauist god of departed spirits. 12th.-First day of the eighth moon. Fête day of Hü Sun, a deified physician, and of the god of the golden armour, worshipped by Literati. 14th.-Fête day of the god of the hearth. Descent of the star god of the northern measure. 16th.-Fête day of the god of Thunder. 20th.-Death of the Emperor Tien Tsung (A.D. 1644). 21st.-Fête day of the god of the northern mountain. 22nd.-Death of the Emperor T'ien Ming (A.D. 1627). 23rd.—Solar 23rd. Solar term, "autumnal equinox"; sun enters Libra. 24th.-Fête day of the dragon spirits of the West. 25th.-Day of general abstinence. The spirits report to Heaven. 26th.-Fifteenth day of the eighth moon. Worship of the moon, feast of Canteras, and worship of the gods of the land and grain. 27th.-Fête day of Tsai Tien, the monkey god (Hanuman), also of Chu, a deified warrior. 29th.-Fête day of Tsiu Sien, the eight immortals of the wine cup.
OCTOBER.-3rd.-Fête day of Dipamkara Buddha. 4tb.-Death of the Emperor Yung Chêng (A.D 1735). 5th-Fête day of Tao Ye, inventor of pottery. 6th.-Fête day of the Tauist god of the sun. 7th.-Day of general abstinence. 8th.-Solar term, “cold dew"; sun enters Libra. Fête day of Confucius (born 551 B.C.), the founder of Chinese ethics and politics. 12th.-First day of the ninth moon. The star gods of the southern and northern measure descend. 14th.-Fête day of the five spirits attending sacrifices. 20th.-Fête day of Kwan Ti, the god of war; Kite flying day. Fête day of the goddess of the measure (Durga), also of Lu, a Tauist patriarch, and of Fung Tu, a ruler in Hades. The earth spirit reigns. 22nd.-Fête day, Yen
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