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面对中、西方文化的比拼，比如西方情人节VS东方七夕节、西方感恩节VS中国重阳节，孰是孰非，网上热谈高温不退。对于明天的万圣节，有数据统计，中国的“鬼”精灵届时会史无前例。大家在狂欢、恶搞的同时，不妨也再来个比较：西方万圣节VS中国鬼节。从这两个节日的传说来看，都是与鬼有关的。随着时间流逝，万圣节的意义逐渐起了变化，变得积极快乐起来。而中国阴历7月15日也被认为是鬼门关大开，阴间的鬼魂回到阳间来控望亲人，但却增加了几分沉重，在这一天，中国民间有在河中放船灯的习俗。

A spine-tingling statistic: China's ghost population will boom tomorrow.

But there is no need to be frightened. This is only because Halloween is becoming more and more popular, with hordes of revellers dressing up as ghosts, goblins and witches.

This year the festival is being given a modern twist, as many young Chinese send e-Halloween cards and have online parties.

There is even a tug-of-war in cyberspace between supporters of Western ghosts in black cloaks, and fans of Chinese ones who stick out their long tongues. The latter group is calling for a revival of local ghosts as foreign ones begin to take over.

"There is a 'ghost festival' in China that is more than two thousand years old," one claimed at the popular online forum Tianya.com. "These 'expat ghosts' are not going to be the winners who take all."

No matter which side they are on, Chinese netizens have never shown such interest in ghosts.

Major websites in China such as Sina.com, Sohu.com and 163.com are all offering e-greetings for Halloween on their home pages. A popular e-card at Sohu.com featuring a cute black-cloaked, green-faced ghost has been sent more than 20,000 times.

Halloween in China is a "crazy night" for young people now, according to Sheila Shi, a website editor in Beijing.

The revellers probably don't know the origins of Halloween, which go back to ancient Celtic traditions in Ireland. According to Celtic mythology, November 1 marked the end of summer, and it was then that the boundaries between the natural and the supernatural were believed to disappear, and spirits of the dead moved freely among the human world.

It's interesting to see certain parallels with the Chinese ghost festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival in southern China and Southeast Asia. It falls on July 15 of the lunar calendar, or mid-August of the Gregorian calendar.

On that day, Chinese legend says, the gate to hell is opened at midnight, and ghosts swarm into the world of human beings in search of food and money.

These ghosts, who have been starving for a whole year, will enter households if they cannot find enough delicacies in the street. Therefore, people in southern China traditionally put chicken, meat, vegetables, rice, tea and fruit on their doorsteps that day.

In other parts of the country people simply burn pieces of paper resembling currency notes, and in larger cities in East China, such as Shanghai and Hangzhou, the ghosts are now welcomed by candles lit along the street.

According to website editor Shi, the streets that night are empty in Chongqing, as few dare leave their house. "They say if a ghost finds you in the street and follows you back home, your family will have bad luck all year," she said.

"All in all, people should be very careful during the Chinese ghost festival; they have to keep away from ghosts and not offend them. It's really not as much fun as Halloween."