The confused face of yours must be saying, “Goody Feed kee siao again, Hungry Ghost Festival is a month-long celebration for ghost foodies to queue up for bubble tea. They try to fake news is it?”
Well, no, my dear confused friend.
Technically speaking, Hungry Ghost Festival is a day that falls on the 15th of July in the Lunar calendar. The month-long event is known as Hungry Ghost Month instead, which is why in this video we’ve done, we only said “Hungry Ghost Month” instead of “Hungry Ghost Festival”.
In some places, the seventh month is merely called the “Ghost Month” while the 15th day is called the “Ghost Day”.
This year, the 15th day falls on the 2 September 2020.
Now, if that is the case, what can we expect that day?
More Hungry Ghosts
On the first day of the Hungry Ghost Month, the gates of hell are open, so ghosts are free to roam in our realm for entertainment and food. On the second day of the month, the gates of Heaven are then open.
On the 15th day, it’s said that in the night, ghosts and evil spirits would get together, which explains why more people are burning offerings during this day to appease the ghosts. It’s also known as Zhongyuan Fesitval (中元节).
You’d therefore see a lot more offerings on the 15th day, and because after fourteen days, the ghosts are now “hungrier” and therefore would be seeking for food and entertaining. The foods you see that are offered would be more sumptuous as well.
It’s best to know the taboos during this period and avoid them at all cost. In other words, don’t swim, go home early and try your best not to kick any offerings. And make sure you look before you park your car.