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The Origin of the Hungry Ghost Festival

The Hungry Ghost Festival on the 15th of the 7th lunar month is traditionally a major Chinese festival. There are mainly two accounts of how this festival came about.

According to the Taoist version, the jade emperor relegates his authority to the earth-ruling emperor in the 7th month, on the 1st day of which the gates of hell would be opened to let the spirits of the dead out to wander for 30 days. Since the olden days, people would show reverence to the gods and ancestors and make general offerings to the spirits (especially the pitiful ones that do not usually receive any) on the 15th of this month. This is done to gain merits, and also in the hope that the spirits, being contented would not harm but would bless oneself instead. In Singapore today, people still commonly burn incense, candles and “Hell money” on a grass patch near their residences during this festival. They also leave some food on the ground for the spirits to enjoy.

The Buddhist version involves a disciple of the Buddha named Mu Lian (or Maudgalyayana in Sanskrit), whose mother became a hungry ghost after death because of her grievous sins. Food would always burn up in her mouth. Mu Lian sought help from the Buddha, who then taught him the Ullambana sutra. As Mu Lian recited the sutra on the 15th of the 7th month, deities gathered to deliver his mother from her suffering. Hence, this day (also known as the Ullambana Festival) came to be a time around which some Buddhists would invite monks and nuns to recite scriptures, and lay out food, incense and candles in remembrance of ones parents or ancestors or as a general offering to the spirits of the dead. Other common activities during this time include alms-giving to monks, nuns or the poor, and visits to one’s ancestral graves.
 

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