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| Saeed Khan / AFP - Getty Images. Ethnic Chinese devotees set fire to a 26.71 foot high paper-made statue of Chinese deity "Da Shi Ye" (Guardian God of Ghosts) during the festive event of Hungry Ghost in Malaysia. |
The Hungry Ghost Festival, is one of the most dreaded festival of the Chinese. The Chinese believe that every year, the Gates of Hell are opened for spirits and ghosts to return to earth and roam freely in search of food and to visit their living ancestors. During this festival the devotees burn paper-made models to appease the wandering spirits and offer prayers. The Festival is always associated to the month of August as, following the Gregorian/Western calendar, the Hungry Ghost Month always cuts across the month of August- BUT in actuality it can land on different dates before or beyond the month of August depending on the year it falls on. Sometimes, it starts in July and ends in August, or starts in August and ends in September.
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| Vincent Thian / AP. Ethnic Chinese burns joss sticks after a giant paper statue of the Chinese deity "Da Shi Ye" or "Guardian God of Ghosts" burns during the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival in Bukit Mertajam,Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011. |
Simply called Ghost Month (鬼月, Guǐ Yuè) in Chinese, the word "hungry" is added to clarify the nature of the ghosts that best characterized this season which is basically the time when hungry ghosts are released from hell so that they can eat. Because a lot of these hungry ghosts lived a negative life or died violent deaths, a lot of them still harbor ill feelings brought about by their fate, so when they’re released from hell, they also tend to do bad things to us.
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| from carlassocialrealism blog |
It is said that there’d be more paranormal and ghostly manifestation during this month. Furthermore, hungry ghosts will also look for victims that they can bring with them to hell, and thus there’d be more accidents. Because of the strong yin and negative energy of this season, business becomes bad and it is highly advisable that one shouldn’t sign any contract, move to a new house, get operated on during the entire Hungry Ghost Month.
To ward off the negativity brought by the Hungry Ghost Month, the following are some more simple rules from a post "Be safe during the Hungry Ghost Month" by Carla Mortel:
- Do not swim at night.
- Do not go out late at night.
- Do not start construction of any structure.
- Do not get married.
- Do not buy a home.
- Do not start a new business.
- Do not move into a new home.
- Avoid too much travel.
- Avoid medical procedures.
It is also advised to wear bright colors during this month to invite more yang energy. Somber colors represent the yin energy.
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