"Are you taking your clothes off the line tonight?" -- the question was voiced with concern from some Taiwanese friends visiting us one evening."We'll take them in later," we reassured them, not clarifying what later might mean.
It was still ghost month according to the Chinese lunar calendar, and during ghost month it is believed that if you leave your clothes hanging on the line overnight, the evil spirits will come and inhabit them. Then, when you do take your clothes in, the evil spirits will stay inside and come in too. When you put those clothes on, the evil spirits will come upon you (unless you are a really strong person, then they might just follow you around). They will control your fate, bring you harm, cause sickness and ill health, etc.
Well, to let you all know what “later” actually turned out to be: We didn’t end up taking our clothes off the line until 2 days following. It wasn’t on purpose, it was just that at first they weren’t dry (it’s humid here!) and then the next day I plain forgot :-P.
Numerous people here engage in many practices to appease and ward off evil spirits. What a privilege it is for us to share with our friends and neighbors the victory and power we have through Christ!
It was still ghost month according to the Chinese lunar calendar, and during ghost month it is believed that if you leave your clothes hanging on the line overnight, the evil spirits will come and inhabit them. Then, when you do take your clothes in, the evil spirits will stay inside and come in too. When you put those clothes on, the evil spirits will come upon you (unless you are a really strong person, then they might just follow you around). They will control your fate, bring you harm, cause sickness and ill health, etc.
Well, to let you all know what “later” actually turned out to be: We didn’t end up taking our clothes off the line until 2 days following. It wasn’t on purpose, it was just that at first they weren’t dry (it’s humid here!) and then the next day I plain forgot :-P.
Numerous people here engage in many practices to appease and ward off evil spirits. What a privilege it is for us to share with our friends and neighbors the victory and power we have through Christ!
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