Zhong Yuan Jie
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
Hungry Ghost Festival takes place on fifteenth day of the seventh month in the Lunar Calendar
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.
- 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’.
- 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.
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