Teng Chieh is usually celebrated in far away China in the very beginning of April.
This day food, as well as water and a burning torch are stayed in front of pictures of deceased relatives. Light of the last one should brighten the way of ancestor’s souls.
For the same purposes in the Buddhist monasteries monks made out of paper the so-called fate boats. In this way they are trying to free the souls of those who died in accidents or missed. According to the beliefs, this will help them to get to the Heaven.
Ceremony is ended by firecrackers. This day it is not recommended to make a fire and to heat the food.
In Japan there is a holiday which is called Bon. It is being celebrated for a few days in mid-August. Japanese believe that at this time the ancestor spirits return to the house where they used to live.
For them, local people light bonfires and special welcome lights, which at the end of the holiday are replaced by the farewell ones. They have to illuminate the road for dead twice: the first time – on the way to the living world, and then back.