A:Hey Susan, what are you coming as this year?
B:Coming as?
A:Yeah...for Halloween! We have a big office party tomorrow evening. There's a prize for best costume!
B:Um...I have to confess, I haven't given it much thought. I'm from China and Halloween really isn't celebrated there.
A:Really! You don't have some kind of Chinese ghost festival?
B:Oh...Sure. We have an entire month! In traditional Chinese culture, Ghost Month is a period when the door between this world and beyond opens up and ghosts come back to earth for a visit.
A:Cool! A whole month! What do you do during that month?
B:Well, people sometimes set off firecrackers, some people burn paper money as an offering and many people go to a temple to burn incense.Mainly though, you need to feed the ghosts because they're hungry.
A:Feed them?
B:Yeah...we set up tables with food, fruit and drinks and offer that to the hungry ghosts.
A:And then later everyone eats the food?
B:Yes! How did you guess that?
A:It makes sense, right? Who else is going to eat it?
B:Good Point!
A:But no dressing up like ghosts, right?
B:No! So...is Halloween essentially the same thing as ghost month?