鬼月 Ghost Month is not over yet, so I'd like to share another interesting movie with you.
Don't forget: Vertical text is read from right to left.
關於我與鬼變成家人的那件事
Don't worry, I'm not going to spoil it, but tell you about the culture and the stories behind it.
Same-sex marriage between citizens became legal in Taiwan on May 24, 2019, meaning that any two citizens, regardless of gender, can marry each other while they are alive.
So what's
冥婚 ghost marriage
is a marriage between two single people who are deceased, or between a dead person and a living person.
Most of the time, the legend says, the deceased who need to 冥婚 are women, because when unmarried women die, they can't be buried in their parents' family cemetery, they are buried elsewhere alone.
So if they have a 冥婚, they could be buried in their husband's family cemetery, and they won't be alone, I think this is a kind of love from parents to their children.
Then, how to find the one for the poor child?
不要撿地上的紅包 Don't pick up the red envelope on the ground
When I was a kid, there was a legend that parents warned, "Never pick up the red envelope on the ground when you are playing outside. Because, according to the legend, the parents of the deceased will prepare a red envelope and put some money, the deceased's hair and nails into it. Choosing a good day, throw the red envelope on the ground and wait in the nearby.
Now, when the lucky person shows up and picks up the red envelope, parents and relatives nearby will run up to the lucky one.
Congratulation! Ghost spouse!
If you dare to take the red envelope but refuse to conduct the ceremony, you will suffer a lifelong of misfortune.
Don't worry, you can still get married to others. Some say that the ghost spouse will make you rich, keep you safe, and accompany you forever.
Now, there are some cultural backgrounds in the movie that I'd like to share with you.
白燈籠 white lantern
The opening shot of the movie is two white lanterns, and there is a word 奠 on the surface of the lantern. This is a tactful way of telling people around that this family is in funeral arrangements.
Substitute
In the ghost marriage ceremony, the spirit tablet, the paper doll, and the rooster are used as substitutes for the deceased.
牌位Spirit tablet is a kind of mini gravestone, you can put it in your home or temple for your worship.
紙紮人 Offering paper doll is a kind of traditional craft, mainly used as offerings in festive celebrations and funerals.
公雞 Rooster, it's said that the crowing of a rooster can do exorcism, so using a rooster would scare away other spirits to make sure the ceremony goes well.
擲筊(Usually pronounced in Taiwanese Hokkien)：is a traditional Chinese divination method in which the diviner throws two small wooden pieces on the ground and interprets the divine answer based on the front and back sides of the pieces. the flat side is frontand the curved side is back.
This one is 聖笅, when one the of blocks has its flat side facing up and the other has its flat side facing down; this shows the answer is yes.
The second one is 陰笅; If both blocks have their curved sides facing up, the answer is no.
The last would be 笑笅,Both blocks have their flat sides facing up, indicating that the answer is not certain, you need to wait.
You can try it with two coins because a coin has two sides, pray to the spirit you want to talk to, ask a yes or no question, throw your coins, and don't tell me the result.
1號、0號、2號
In sexuality between two men, top, bottom, and versatile are roles during sexual activity. Simply put, The top is 1號 and the Bottom means 0號 in Taiwan, please use your imagination to think about why. it's hard to explain in words.
In the scene, 明翰 simply wanted to emphasize that he is not gay, but participant number 2.
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