This historic moment took place at the Municipal Building, later renamed City Hall, now part of the National Gallery. Two weeks earlier, on Sept 2, 1945, the formal surrender of Japan to General Douglas MacArthur took place aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Ten days later, it was Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Supreme Allied Commander in Southeast Asia, who accepted the Japanese surrender in Singapore at 11.10am.
The ceremony was attended by high-ranking Allied officers, commanders, and four guards-of-honour, representing the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, the Indian Army, and the Australian paratroopers. There was even a fleet band playing, while a 17-gun salute by the Royal Artillery echoed through the city. Mountbatten inspected the troops before heading into the chamber for the formal surrender.
Hungry Ghost Festival takes place on fifteenth day of the seventh month in the Lunar Calendar
The Hungry Ghost Festival is one of the best times of the year to soak in the local culture and observe traditional rites in hyper-modern Singapore. Just as the Americans have Halloween, the Chinese have the Hungry Ghost Festival (also known as Zhong Yuan Jie in Chinese), when the souls of the dead are believed to roam the earth. According to custom, these ghosts can get up to mischief if ignored so all sorts of offerings are made during this period, which is the seventh month in the lunar calendar. Making offerings:
Notice those metal bins scattered around residential areas and housing estates?
They are specifically provided to contain the stacks of hell money and paper offerings, such as cars, watches and jewellery, that are burned by relatives to appease their deceased family members – taking care of their material needs even in the afterlife.
Do watch your step in case you trample on food left out in the open. Although many place their food offerings (oranges, rice or even suckling pig) and joss sticks on proper altars, others tuck them at the side of footpaths or even alongside trees.
Boisterous shows:
And as if satisfying the ghosts’ appetites for money and food wasn’t enough, taking care of their entertainment is also important.
Large tents are set up in open fields to host raucous dinners and auctions in heartland estates like Ang Mo Kio and Yishun. There are performances too, such as Chinese operas and 'getai' (literally ‘song stage’ in Chinese, or live stage performances), which feature tales of gods and goddesses, bawdy stand-up comedy, as well as song and dance numbers.
Everyone is welcome – so sit back and enjoy the show. Just remember not to sit in the front row, unless you want to rub shoulders with the ‘special guests’.
Times they are a-changing:
A mainstay of the festival is the 'getai' performance, thrown as a popular mode of entertainment for the wandering spirits. But 'getai' today is a very different animal – jazzed up with snazzy LED panel lit stages. Young, sexy perfomers sing not just traditional songs in dialect but thumping techno versions of English and Mandarin pop ditties. It appears that even the tastes of the spiritual world are moving with the times.
Zhong Yuan Jie (中元节) takes place on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the Lunar calendar. It is mostly observed by Chinese Buddhists and Taoists who believe that during this time, colloquially known as “seventh month” or 七月 (“seventh month” in Chinese), the gates of Hell are opened, releasing spirits who roam the earth.
The period is also commonly referred to as “Hungry Ghost Festival”, with reference to the belief that spirits are hungry because they do not have descendants to make offerings to them. However, it is not just mischievous spirits who roam the earth during the seventh month – it is also believed that dead ancestors may come back to observe the living. Hence, there are various practices associated with entertaining and appeasing these spirits. For instance, believers will burn joss sticks, paper offerings and make food offerings. There will also be large-scale performances called getai (歌台）which provide entertainment to both the spirits and the living.
Zhong Yuan Jie is practised in Asian countries and communities with a large Chinese, Buddhist or Taoist population, including in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. In Singapore, individuals may conduct their own rituals of worship in their own homes, at temples, or in the neighbourhood. Believers living in different parts of Singapore may gather to engage in collective burning of offerings using big stainless steel containers provided by the Town Council. Getai shows are typically performed outdoors in temporary tent and stage setups, such as at empty fields in in the public housing estates. In Singapore, the festival is mostly observed by Chinese Buddhists and Taoists. Certain temples conduct specific rituals such as prayers and burning of offerings. Temples may also have believers sponsor a separate batch of food items, which are distributed to the needy.
Hungry Ghost Festival is one of the major festivals in Chinese culture. It is a month-long festival celebrated on the 7th Lunar month and this year, it fell on 1st August. On that day, it is believed that the “Gates of Hell” are opened and the dead will return to the human world. During this period, many Chinese will try to AVOID moving into a new house, getting married, staying out late etc. The food on the table are offerings for the restless souls wandering around during the one-month long Hungry Ghost Festival. My friend told me his friend who is able to see “things” saw those spirits grabbing the food to eat during the 7th Lunar month. Sounds scary? Well, to appease the wandering spirits to prevent them from entering homes and causing disturbances, food such as chicken, rice, vegetables are placed along the roadside and street corners to making offerings to the spirits. Bundles of hell bank notes are burnt as offerings to the spirits for them to spend in hell. These hell bank notes come in different denominations! They are hell lots of big notes!! read more
7th day of 7th month on the Chinese lunar calendar
Falling on the seventh day of seventh lunar month, the Double Seventh Festival in China, also known as Qixi Festival, is what Valentine's Day to the western countries. As it is a day of great importance to girls, the event is also called Young Girls' Festival. Because of the beautiful legend about Niu Lang and Zhi Nu, the festival has been endowed with the meaning of great romance. As one of the Chinese four folk legends concerning love, the legend of Niu Lang and Zhi Nu features the Double Seventh Festival.
It is said that Niu Lang was a cowboy who had a kind heart even though he was without living parents. Living with his brother and brother-in-law, he was maltreated. One day, after having been driven out of his home, an old man (in fact a supernatural being), guided him to the sick cattle from heaven. With great care from Niu Lang, the cattle recovered. In order to show gratitude to Niu Lang, the cow helped him get acquainted with Zhi Nu - a fairy from the heaven. They fell in love with each other and married to live a happy life with Niu Lang planting in the field while Zhi Nu did weaving at home. They were also magically given a boy and a girl. However, good times didn't last long because Zhi Nu's deeds were known by the king of the heaven who took her back to heaven. With the cow's help, Niu Lang flew to heaven along with his two children as they chased their wife and mother. It was just at that moment before he could reach Zhi Nu that the queen of the heaven created a huge river between them. Tears from the two flowed continuously so that even the queen was moved. As a result, she allowed them to meet only on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month every year. Therefore, the day that Niu Lang and Zhi Nu meet is the present Double Seventh Festival. read more
Qixi Festival 2014 七夕節 Chinese Valentine's Day
Chinese Valentine’s Day – Qi Xi Festival (七夕节)
The Double Seventh Festival known in China as Chinese Valentine's Day, falls on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month. Also callded "Qi Xi Jie" or "Qi Qiao Jie", it is a traditional festival full of romance and important to ancient ladies, but not as well-known as other traditional festivals. Not so many Chinese people take it as a festival as before but are all familiar with the story behind it. Long time ago, there was a poor cowherd, Niulang. His parents died and he lived with his elder brother and sister-in-law, who were both mean and treat Niulang badly. They kicked Niulang out of the house and left him old clothes and an old ox. Niulang built a cottage at the foot of mountain and took good care of that old ox. One day the ox spoke to him and told that it used to be Taurus, a proud star in the night sky but was published due to his violation to law of the Heavenly Palace. The old ox told Niulang some goodness would come to the pond not far away from his cottage for having a bathe; Zhinu was among them, who is daughter of king in Heaven, the kind and the most beautiful; If he could take her clothes away, she would leave and become his wife. Niulang listened to the old ox and went to the pond at appointed day.
When the goddness came and took off their silk ropes then jumped into the water. Niulang found Zhinu's clothes and hide away. Other goddesses witnessed Niulang and dressed up quickly and flew away, only Zhinu left. He had adored her from the first moment he saw her. They looked into each other's eyes. The heavenly girl told the poor cowherd that she would be his wife. They soon got married lived together in that cottage. Niulang worked hard to grow crops and Zhinv raised silkworms. They lived a simple but happy life, with a little boy and girl Zhinu give birth afterwards. One day the old ox died and they preserve the its hide according to its words left. At the same time, the king and queen of the heaven found that Zhinu married a man and had babies. The queen flew down to earth with her solders and caught Zhinu away. Niulang came back home and found Zhinu not at home, only the children left. The babies cried and told him where Zhinu was going. Niulang remembered what the old ox told him and placed the twins in wicker baskets on a pole to carry on his shoulder, put on the magic hide, and flew up, up into the sky. The queen noticed that Niulang was following them, she became angry, with wave of her arm, and a raging torrent immediately appeared between her group and Niulang. He could not get past this wide swollen river. Heartbroken, Niulang and his children could only look and weep bitterly. The King in his Heavenly Palace was moved by the sound of their crying, and decided to allow Niulang and Zhinu to meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
This sad love story was passed down from ancient times, with little magpies were seen on double seventh day, as most of them fly to Milky River to form a bridge for the annual meeting of Niulang and Zhinu. In ancient times, the double seventh day was an important festival for young women and young girls. No matter poor or rich, they would put on their best clothes and place an incense burner in the courtyard and lay out some fruit as offerings. Then all the girls in the family would kowtow to Niulang and Zhinu and pray for ingenuity. But nowadays, these traditional customs were lost and most Chinese young people favored Western Valentine's Day, a great day to express love between lovers.
Born: 8 Jan 1935, Died: 16 Aug 1977, Age:42, He would had been 90 years old today
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock (1957)
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), also known simply as Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century. His energized interpretations of songs and sexually provocative performance style, combined with a singularly potent mix of influences across color lines during a transformative era in race relations, led him to both great success and initial controversy.
Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and relocated to Memphis, Tennessee with his family when he was 13 years old. His music career began there in 1954, recording at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African-American music to a wider audience. Presley, on rhythm acoustic guitar, and accompanied by lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, was a pioneer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. In 1955, drummer D. J. Fontana joined to complete the lineup of Presley's classic quartet and RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who would manage him for more than two decades. Presley's first RCA Victor single, "Heartbreak Hotel", was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. Within a year, RCA would sell ten million Presley singles. With a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records, Presley became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll.
In November 1956, Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender. Drafted into military service in 1958, Presley relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. He held few concerts, however, and guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of the 1960s to making Hollywood films and soundtrack albums, most of them critically derided. In 1968, following a seven-year break from live performances, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed television comeback special Elvis, which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. In 1973, Presley gave the first concert by a solo artist to be broadcast around the world, Aloha from Hawaii. Years of prescription drug abuse severely compromised his health, and he died suddenly in 1977 at his Graceland estate at the age of 42.
