Hungry Ghost Festival in First World Singapore

Описание: Singapore is a First World country. But some age-old traditions will never change... like the Hungry Ghost Festival.

The 7th month of the Chinese lunar calendar is known as the Hungry Ghost Month or Hungry Ghost Festival (中元节). This is a Chinese Taoist tradition and is commonly observed in Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. It is believed that the Gates of Hell is opened on the 1st day of this month and the ghosts or spirits are able to return to our world. People try to avoid swimming or being alone at night. On the 1st day of this month, people burn paper ‘money’, light joss sticks, candles and offer food outside their homes or businesses, along the sides of roads, or in open areas. People believed that the hungry ghosts will not harm them after receiving these.

The last day of the 7th month is the day that the ghosts go back and the gates of hell are closed again. People burn more paper money and food offerings to pray for safety for the rest of the yearOne of the highlights of the Hungry Ghost Festival used to be the performances of traditional operas and puppet performances. In Singapore these has evolved to ‘Getai’ performances with skids and modern pop songs in Hokkien dialect and Mandarin.A western festival that has something to do with the dead, would be Halloween. That’s a story for another day.

Hungry Ghost Month lasts from Aug 16 to Sep 14

Camera: DJI Pocket 2
Editing: Final Cut Pro X
Video recorded on Sep 14, 2023

#singapore #singaporefestivals