I was walking down the streets from the carpark to my home after a long day at work. The usually quite and uneventful walk was profoundly different today. The air was laced with a acrid smell of burnt paper and covered with a light hazed of smoke. Strips of white paper with silver and gold paintings were strewned all over the walkway. The pathway was lighted not by the usual fluorescent lamp but by an eerie yellow light of red candles that were set apart close to each other. Here and there, there were heaps of paper being burnt in the glowing pile or burnt and black residue marked by the patches of blackened grass.
Something about tonight is different. As I tried to recall the significant of tonight and looked around the neighbourhood, I saw a group of people over a burning heap of fire chanting and and in various forms of procrastinate. I t then hit me in realisation the significance of today, it is the start of the Hungry Ghost festival.
Just as the Americans has Halloween to celebrate in October, the Chinese has the ‘Hungry Ghost festival’. I remembered the ‘spooky’ details that was 'shared' or rather told to me when I was young with the apparent intent to scare me when I was young back then. The tales are still being shared till now. There are even movies centred around the Hungry Ghost Festival.
Hungry Ghost festival is a popular occasion that is taken very seriously by the Chinese. This festival that falls on the 7th month of the lunar New Year is celebrated mainly in China, Singapore and Malaysia. According to Chinese traditional believe, it its said that during this month, the gates of hell are opened to free the hungry ghosts who then wander off to Earth to seek food. Some even think that the ghosts who has unfinished business on Earth would seek revenge on those who had wronged them in their lives. The reason why the Chinese celebrate this festival is to remember their dead family members and pay tribute to them. They also feel that offering food to the deceased appeases them and wards off bad luck.
The Chinese believe that their dead relatives or loved ones returned to visit their living relatives during the 7th month. Thus they would then prepare a sumptuous meal for the ‘hungry ghosts’. By satisfying the ghosts good fortune and luck are assured in their lives. Prayers are offered to the deceased by burning joss sticks and hell money. I is a common sight in Singapore to see entertaining ‘wayang’ shows and concerts performed on outdoor stages in some neighborhoods. These events always held at night are to appease those wandering ghosts. But watchers beware, if ever you decide to enjoy the wayangs, do not ever occupy the front row which is reserved for the dead. Even in death, they are given priority seating. For me even to get a priority seating in a cinema, I will have to reserve months in advance which may not necessarily land me with one.
Superstitions
An interesting superstition that the Chinese have about the festival is that it is bad to go swimming during the 7th month. They think that an evil ghost might cause you to drown in the swimming pool. I am not however sure if this is closely observed in our society nowadays. A visit to the swimming pool, you will see hordes of people tanning themselves. I supposed the only reason why we stay away from the water would be if there is a government waning to say that the water is polluted. In addition to this, children are also advised to return home early and not to wander around alone at night. This belief is due to the reason that the wandering ghosts might possess children. Hmmmm I wonder how would this affect St James and Ministry of Music discos and pubs.
Offerings to the Dead
The Chinese also do a lot of offerings to the deceased. These offerings are made by burning fake money notes, which are also known as ‘hell money’ and even paper television or radio sets. Some families also burn paper houses & cars to give to their dead relatives. The Chinese feel that these offerings reach the ghosts and help them live comfortably in their world. Too bad no one would give me any of these earthly possession when I am still around. I wouldn't mind the extra case and bigger cars. My only question is do the ghost suffers from the same high oil prices and inlfation as we do?
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