Hungry Ghost Festival 2010: All Set

The Hungry Ghost Festival or Ghost festival is a traditional Chinese festival. Chinese believe the gates of Hell open once every year on the fifteenth night of the seventh month of the Chinese calendar. Ghosts are free to visit their family or wander on earth then.The fifteenth day is thus called Ghost Day and the seventh month,the Ghost Month (鬼月). This year, there was a state level Ghost festival in Penang in Padang Brown, otherwise known as Padang Dato Keramat, a 12-acre playing field in George Town donated by a one-time wealthy landowner in Penang, David Brown who was a Scot from Edinburgh and who came to Penang in the early 19th century. The field was all set for a celebration - there were make-shift shelters, joss sticks, food and various other offerings and paraphenalia and a stage had even been set up...


All set for the Ghost Festival...Can you spot the stage?









More Hungry Ghost Festival tales coming up next!

Comments

Liudmila said…
Very interesting! In Russian culture there are days when the ghosts go out and walk where they want too. And I read about a similar feast in the zone I live now. This last is forgatten by the residents, they follow now American feasts pubblished by TV.
footiam said…
This is not halloween? Anyway, many cultures believe that there are ghosts.
Liudmila said…
They have now Halloween in Italy but it's American usage. Italians have there own traditions that are replaced with the American now.
footiam said…
I read that Halloween is catching up in Asia but definitely not here where I am living.