For chinese, all of us know that chinese calendar July is considered as “Hungry Ghost” month!!!  So for this year, it is started from 01-08-2008 to 30-08-2008 (in Western calendar), meaning that the hungry ghost will have the authority to come out from “hell” to “human” earth!!! 

In olden days, my parents will advise us not to come out at night during this period!  Behave wisely when doing our day to day living, like speak nicely, don’t simply spit everywhere, don’t simply throw things and and always ask for “excuse me” when throwing rubbish or anything!  This is to avoid us from offending the hungry ghost unintentionally, or else we will be punished by the hungry ghost in anyways.  Minor punishment like wake up with bruise everywhere on your body, reddish in eyes, small injury like falls down, cut your fingers, etc…to heavy punishment which may get you involve in car accident or any kind of accidents which at the end need to be hospitalised.  Or even worst when you offend an “angry ghost”, your life will be threatened unsafe!!

It is up to you to believe!!!  But sometimes it is no harm to beware and listen to old people warnings than regret ourselves if unexpected incidents happened afterwards because it may be too late already!

But there is another meaning for this period of July, it is a good time (once a year) for those younger generation to show their respect and memory in their heart of their late family members by offering them food and “paper assets” for example: money, laptop, car, house, ship, handphone, maids, etc…made of paper, which believed will be received by their late family members in underworld after burn it during the offerings ceremony!

If you are so curious to know more and need to suggest or have your said on anything on this issue, you are welcome to leave a comment on this post.