CHINESE HUNGRY GHOST FESTIVAL (2013)

CHINESE HUNGRY GHOST FESTIVAL

(August 7th, 2013 to September 4th, 2013)

Every August…the Chinese Community prepares for a very traditional festival to pay respects to their dead. They believe that during this month…the "Gates of Hell" open & the souls of the dead are allowed to freely roam the earth.

To honor the traditional rites…special bins & small altars are set up in both public & private areas to burn paper money, incense sticks & to offer foods such as oranges, cakes & etc. It is also customary to set up special tents in the streets where believers gather to entertain the spirits with performances done on a stage…such as comedy, puppetry, dancing & singing. But make sure you don't sit in the front row - these seats are reserved for the "special guests you can't see".

Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) & Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors…but on the Ghost Day…the deceased are believed to visit the living instead.

While the festival’s origins are not unlike those of Halloween in Europe…it is also intrinsically linked to the Chinese practice of ancestor worship. For the visitor…it’s a perfect opportunity to see some of the city’s living culture in action with many people tending roadside fires & burning faux money & other offerings for ghosts & ancestors to use in the afterlife. Food is also left out to sate the appetite of the hungry ghosts.

Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense & burning joss paper…& papier-mâché forms of material items such as clothes, gold & other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors. Elaborate meals (often vegetarian meals) would be served with empty seats for each of the deceased in the family treating the deceased as if they are still living.