Important Hungry Ghosts Festival Rules

 Important Hungry Ghosts Festival Rules

The Ghosts Festival represents the most scariest and spooky time of the month as the wandering spirits are let out of hell and they are allowed to roam in our dimension for a month! This is one of the tale about someone who accidentally and breaks the rule during that month.

There are several important rules to follow especially from the Taoist faith for the Ghost Festival. The Ghosts Festival (or Qing Ming) falls on the 7^th month of the lunar year and the hells are open and wandering spirits are everywhere! Some of these basic guidelines are:

1.      Be extremely careful of what you are saying as wandering spirits make take offense (angry-lah) at what is said.

2.      Avoid speeding (avoid knocking on wandering spirits)

3.      Do not spit at the roadsides, stalls etc and definitely do not pee outdoors (an even bigger no-no)

4.      Do not step on the offerings (hell notes, food, etc) offered to the wandering spirits 

Offering for the Death (tinktravel.blogspot.com)

Harry Chu just had dinner together with a friend at a restaurant and he was walking back to his car. At the pavement, he was happily chatting with his friend, when he accidentally step over a roadside offering and nearly fell forward. Cursing he kicked at the offerings when his companion screamed at him to stop. Harry sneered and told his friend that is was only an old wives’ superstition. 

Qing Ming Amazing Stories

Qing Ming Amazing Stories

Qing Ming (or commonly named Ghost Festival) is the time where the deceased or the departed are given one month’s permission to visit our world.

Qing Ming to Taoism and Buddhism followers is to revere or admire one’s departed families and relatives that live in this world. It is also an opportunity to visit the graveyards even sweep their tombstones as a mark of respect. The followers bring food, drinks and joss sticks to pray to graveyards. They also offer paper money, houses, suits, mobile phones and even a paper maid!

Prayers at Gravesite (courtesy www.mythicmaps.et)

However Qing Ming or Ghost Festival as the name implies have its share of ghostly stories, I will relate two spooky tales that happened during the festival.

1^st story

This happened in a seafood restaurant in Port Klang during the Qing Ming month as told by Steven Yap. Steven was told by his mother to be back early after work especially during that month but he did not really believe in such stories. 

He and his office colleagues had a celebration one night when one of his workmates received a healthy commission for a project. After work they went to a seafood restaurant to celebrate with food and drinks.

Half way during dinner, Steven had to go the restroom which was separately located adjacent to the restaurant. The male toilet was dark and muddy and the lights were not working well as they were flickering on and off. When he was done, he went to the row of basins to wash his hand when the lights went off. He was quickly drying his hands when he realised from the mirror that someone was in the toilet.