Hungry Ghost Festival

2011 Hungry Ghost Festival in Singapore

The seventh month of the traditional Chinese Lunar calendar is known as Ghost Month.

During this Ghost Month, the Ghost Festival, commonly known as “Hungry Ghost Festival” or “Seventh Month Festival” is held.

This festival is one of the many traditional festivals celebrated by the Chinese all over the world.

It is widely believed that during this month the Gates of Hell are opened, allowing for the deceased to wander our world.

The fifteenth of every Ghost Month is known as Ghost Festival.

When is the Hungry Ghost Festival 2011?

Ghost Month in 2011 is from 31st July to 28th August and Ghost Festival is on 14th August.

Hungry Ghost Festival Story

There are three significant days during Ghost Month. As the myth goes, once the Gates of Hell are opened on the first day of the Seventh Month, the spirits emerge and roam freely.

They visit their living descendents, search for food and feast on the offerings put out for them.

The important aspect of the Ghost Month for most Chinese is the comfort in knowing they can communicate with their deceased loved ones - their ancestors are able to pay them a visit and in return they are able to show their respect to their ancestors.

On the first day, spirits and ancestors are respected by offerings of incense, food and ghost money.

Ghost money is made of paper and burned so it becomes accessible to spirits.

These offerings are always done outside of one’s home as it is believed to prevent the spirits from wandering into their homes and causing disturbances.

While offerings are made for ancestors, it is also acknowledged that they are also for wandering spirits without families to visit.

Hungry Ghost Festival Day

The second significant day is the 15th – the day of the Ghost Festival itself.

It is believed on this day the spirits are at an all time high and they have to be appeased by offerings of an elaborate feast.

The Chinese believe that in order to obtain good fortune and plenty of luck in their lives, they will have to please and satisfy the spirits especially on this day.

The third significant day is the last day of the Ghost Month when the Gates of Hell are said to close until the next Seventh Month.

During the last day, priests chant prayers to inform the spirits that it’s time to return back to their world.

Hungry Ghost Festival Highlight

The fun highlight of Singapore’s celebration is the Getai shows.

Literally translated into “stage of songs”, Getai shows are entertaining live stage performances held during the Ghost Month in Singapore.

The mood of these shows is lively and cheerful. It features everything from Chinese opera to popular veteran singers to puppet shows and scantily clad performers.

An interesting thing to note is during every Getai show, the first couple of rows of seats are left unoccupied as these are specially reserved for spirits only.

Most of the performers and even the hosts are well known in the Getai circuits and are much loved by the audience who turn up to cheer them on and sing and dance to their favorite songs.

The show is performed mainly in Mandarin and local Chinese dialects. The trend in recent years is to feature mostly singing and dancing acts.

Judging from the audience’s reaction, this is an immensely popular trend! Generally, performers choose loud and vibrant outfits that really stand out especially at night when the shows are held.

Younger, swanky performers veer towards revealing outfits while traditional ones keep things conservative.

Given the diverse entertainers, there is truly something for everyone at these Getai shows!

While Getai shows are traditionally held in residential heartlands, a special glammed-up Getai show was held smack middle of Orchard Road on 31st July 2011.

The vast space in front of Ngee Ann City mall was converted into a street performance stage and throngs of people, locals and tourists alike, rocked out for 31/2 hours.

This was an inaugural event for one of Singapore’s undisputedly busiest street. It is an excellent opportunity for tourists to experience a piece of authentic Chinese culture that they are otherwise likely to miss out on.

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