Hong Kong Ghost Month: What's Burned on the Streets Isn't Just Joss Paper

In the seventh lunar month, many things appear on the streets of Hong Kong.

By the roadside, under bridges, at park entrances, people squat to burn paper, burning stack after stack of "street clothes"—paper printed in the shape of garments—and gold and silver ingots, with fruits, cakes, rice bowls set beside them, and incense sticks planted. Passersby all detour, refusing to step on that pile of ashes.

This is for the "lonely souls and wild ghosts." Legend has it that once the Ghost Gate opens, these ghosts without descendants to worship them come out, and they must be fed and clothed, or they will cause trouble.

Another famous one is the Yulan Festival, organized by the Chaoshan people in Hong Kong, lasting several days once held, with stages erected, operas performed, large paper effigies of the Great King burned, monks invited to chant sutras, and rice and peace packets distributed. On the last day, the paper-crafted Great King is burned, said to send the ghosts back. This festival was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2011. The opera performed at night leaves the first row empty, reserved for the ghosts to watch.

During this Ghost Month, Hong Kong people have many taboos: don't whistle at night, don't swim, don't move house, don't pat others on the shoulder, don't pick up money on the road, and don't stay out too late.

After the thirtieth of the seventh lunar month, the ashes on the street are blown away by the wind, the road surface returns to being clean, and everything is as if nothing happened.

#Folklore #网络转载 #香港