The Mid-Summer Ghost Festival - the offering of sacrifices held on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month is a custom dating back to thousands of years which has been passed on through many generations. According to Taoist beliefs, this festival of deliverance originated on the birthday of the Chinese Guardian of Hell who governs all matters in the underworld and decreed an amnesty out of mercy so all lost souls could be released back to the mortal world from hell on the 1st day of July To enjoy incense, candles and food offered to the spirits for a period of one month so they might be converted to "The Way." The Buddhists designate the mid-summer sacrifices as the Ghost Festival Legend has it that Moginlin, a disciple of Buddha Sakyamuni, entered the path of hungry spirits in Hell to rescue his deceased mother from suffering there. On the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, five fruits and a hundred delicacies were offered in ten directions to all the ghosts in space to relieve his mother's suffering in hell. Both of these interpretations en-compass the Chinese spirits of forbearance, charity and filial piety.

　　The origin of Mid-Summer Ghost Festival in Keelung can be traced back to the "Changchow and Chuanchow Clash".  It was a war between the people of Changchow and Chuanchow coming from Fukien Province of Mainland China that occurred in August 1851 (1st year of Ching dynasty Emperor Hsien Feng,). Many people died violently in this brutal fight. A sacrificial ceremony was performed on the verge of further revenge and provocation. Fortunately, knowledgeable people of high esteem stopped in to mediate and the imminent clash did not take place. it was then decided that families would alternately by family name offer sacrifices to relieve the souls of the dead from suffering in the next world, regionalism was replaced by kinship, substituted for the undesirable customs of fracturing skulls.

On the 1st day of eighth lunar month, the tower gate is closed. Every sacrificial ritual reflects cultural and folklore traditions. On the first day, the gates of the tower and the tombs are open to let the wandering, the hungry and the lonely ghosts in Hell return to the world of the living to seek food for one month. In dipper lanterns which represent clans with the same family name, there are actual objects of ruler, scissors, sword and mirror, with each having a specific auspicious meaning. The handing over of thuribles with family names on them signify "generational succession." The lanterns are released in the waterways to illuminate the way for the abandoned souls and lead them to dry land. The Main Altar is arranged in the form of the Chinese character "Fu" meaning " wealth , lucky ", each of the most brilliantly shone four characters of "Gold, Fowl, Sable, Stone" has its historical meaning. The ceremonial dance of welcoming Chung Kwei and the closing of tower gate on the 1st day of the eighth lunar month are for sending the ghosts back to the nether world, so they won't cause any harm in the living world. Hopefully, the readers can have a glimpse of the historical background and the folklore value of Keelung Mid-Summer Ghost Festival.