DistantNews
Support us
🇹🇼 Taiwan /Culture & Society

Ghost Festival Offerings: Numerologist Warns Police, Medics Against 'Busy' Fruits

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • A numerologist advises police, firefighters, and medical personnel to avoid specific fruits and offerings during the Ghost Festival to prevent attracting more work or misfortune.
  • Fruits like pineapple, mango, and banana are cautioned against due to phonetic associations with "busy," "trouble," or "calling for incidents."
  • Recommended offerings include apples for peace, oranges for good fortune, and "Guai Guai" snacks for safety.

As Taiwan approaches the Ghost Festival on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, a numerologist has issued specific advice for police officers, firefighters, and medical personnel regarding offerings. Yang Deng-ke warns that these professions, which frequently deal with emergencies and trauma, should avoid certain fruits and items that could symbolically invite more work or danger.

Pineapple cannot be offered, as in Minnan it sounds like 'prospering,' implying cases one after another, meaning the area is not peaceful.

— Yang Deng-keExplaining the taboo against offering pineapples during the Ghost Festival.

The numerologist advises against offering pineapples, mangoes, and bananas. In Taiwanese Minnan dialect, "pineapple" (ong lai) sounds like "prospering," which could imply a constant stream of incidents. "Mango" (mang guo) sounds similar to "busy," suggesting an overwhelming caseload. "Banana" (xiang jiao) sounds like "to invite," potentially attracting more trouble.

Mangoes cannot be offered, as 'mang' sounds like 'busy,' leading to many cases and being busy.

— Yang Deng-keExplaining the taboo against offering mangoes.

Other fruits to avoid include grapes, lychees, and longans, which are typically consumed in bunches. This is seen as a taboo for professions that might face a "bunch" of cases. Even products containing "C" are discouraged, as "C" can sound like "death" in Minnan, and it might imply frequent CPR interventions. Peanuts are also on the list, as "peanut" (hua sheng) sounds like "to happen," which is undesirable for those seeking social stability.

Bananas cannot be offered, as 'banana' sounds like 'to invite,' potentially attracting trouble.

— Yang Deng-keExplaining the taboo against offering bananas.

Instead, Yang suggests offerings that symbolize peace and good fortune. These include apples, which represent "peace" (ping ping an an), and citrus fruits like oranges, signifying "good luck" (shi shi ji li). He also recommends "Guai Guai," a popular Taiwanese snack brand, whose name implies "to be obedient" or "to cause no trouble," ensuring things remain calm. These suggestions are based on folk beliefs and are offered for reference.

Apples represent 'peace,' and citrus fruits represent 'good luck.'

— Yang Deng-keRecommending alternative offerings for the Ghost Festival.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog