//beconfused

Well, it’s Singapore’s birthday. It’s here at last but somehow I just don’t feel that it is here. I was looking around and I notice more and more flags and found one horrible banner hung on one of the blocks.

_(Happy birthday Singapore banner put up by the nice people from Bukit Batok Zone 10.)_

And not long ago, the Hungry Ghost Festival just begin. The Chinese believed that the hell gates are open and all the hungry ghosts are lurking around to find food to eat. The Chinese would then submit their offerings to the ghost in bid of them minding their own businesses, i.e. to be hungry and eat the food I presume, and not disturb anyone hopefully.

To welcome the hungry ghosts, the Chinese burn offerings, huge candles and wooden sticks along the streets. I don’t really know what’s with burning the candles and wooden sticks along streets frankly speaking. It’s probably an environmentally-friendly message from to the enthusiasts to keep off the grass. The burnt offerings are in the form of hell money. More money, more commodities the ghosts can buy in hell. People burnt millions of hell dollars and sent them to hell.

My grandmother believed that the higher the burnt hell notes fly, the further it would travel and would eventually reach the dead. While it never really was my hobby to watch her burnt the hell notes, I always burnt them with her and listen to her memories. Some people think that all those burning are just pollution and triggers the PSI (Pollution Standard Index) to increase by a couple of points. In a way, they’re right. But in Singapore, you can only respect their religions and try to stay away from people burning their offerings.

Every first day of seventh month in the Chinese calendar, some families would gather to burn offerings to their ancestors. The temple would organize activities too. There’ll be getai shows where Chinese getai performers would sing, dance and act in front of the public. It’s good entertainment and always a crowd-attracter. And there’ll be lots of banners with bright colors during the Hungry Ghost Festival. Strange. It looks just like the one picture in this post.

Possibly related:

1. Five days, little sleep and Botak Jones
2. tune//funeral
3. food//translation

Tags: birthday, china, occasion, singapore