TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Keelung's 170-year-old Ghost Festival concluded Sunday (Sept. 22) with a ceremonial brazier handover, marking the end of the lunar seventh month, a traditional period when spirits visit the living world. The symbolic "Coffin Closing" (關龕門) ritual closed the passage between worlds, completing the 2025 Zhongyuan Festival (中元節) cycle.
The Wu Family Association (吳姓宗親會) transferred ceremonial duties to the Liu-Tang-Tu Family Association (劉唐杜姓宗親會) at Ching-an Temple (慶安宮). Wu Chun-cheng (吳春成), chairman of the Wu Family Association, said the brazier handover represents the end of one cycle and the beginning of another, calling it essential for cultural inheritance. The ritual maintains Taiwan's rotating family association system.
Deputy Mayor Chiu Pei-lin (邱佩琳) led officials and family representatives in ancient rituals at Laodagong Temple (老大公廟). Participants offered incense, flowers, and fruits before recording ceremony details in a brocade box. The formal documentation preserves the "Coffin Closing" tradition, including participant names and timing.
The ceremony symbolically closes the passage between living and spirit worlds, ending lunar July. Deputy Mayor Chiu praised the Wu Family Association's efforts, noting successful festival hosting requires broad community support and dedication. The ritual marks the spiritual calendar's transition from the ghost month.