The Hungry Ghost

 At the 15th day of the lunar calendar or in the month of July or August, the Chinese celebrate The Hungry Ghost festival. The festival itself is to pay respect to the deceased like a family member that has passed away or ancestors from many millennial ago that have deceased.
It is a first time for me to see such festival because this kind of religious practices is very uncommon in my country since the Chinese culture only influence a subtle portion of Indonesia's diversity. Yet, i don't see much of the festival since it mostly done during the night since i spend most of my time in class and at night i do my assignments in my room.
The first time i saw that there's a some kind of religious event going on is when i see the number of offerings on the side of the street. The red color of the offerings really caught my attention, sometimes when i was walking along the street and i saw them i stop and give some time to see them. Personally the red color of the offerings, the fruits and foods that's on the table doesn't give them a sense of remorse because they're being offered to the deceased. They give a more joyful feel of sharing, the feel of fortune and blessing that you could share your time to set up the offering and to give what you have to the spirit that's all around you.

We offer foods and many other items with good will in our mind to ask for the spirit's protection and also to create good bond with them, just like when we treat our distant family when they come for a visit. This spirit that surround us during this festival are called pretas. Pretas took form like a ghostly being that appears during this festival. Preta is a spirit that come to our world to seek food and drinks that are being offered by us so they no longer feel hungry or thirsty. 

In this festival there are many believes that swirl around this religious event. As an example to not to go out during the night because u might not be careful and step on the offerings that are placed at the side of the road and disturb the spirit that is eating the offering and then may bring you misfortune. There are many more things that people try to avoid during this month like going abroad or even going swimming, because they may feared that there are spirits that tries to harm them.

 In this festival the entertainment business is also a huge part of the event. There are 2 types of entertainment that are for the spirits and the people in the community also. Wayang and Getai are a part of this event's entertainment. The wayang are a human puppet show that plays drama from ancient stories mostly are being enjoyed by the older citizen. Wayang are more traditional form of entertainment that are being used since ancient time, it is the original entertainment in the festival. As the festival grew with time Getai appears and began to replace wayang. Getai is a live music show that attract more audience because they perform a more modern shows.

In the nutshell The Hungry Ghost festival is very lively and active it has morph to follow the passage of time. The many pieces of the festival such as offerings, the spirits, the superstitions and the entertainment play a big role to give more colors to this festival. Those small pieces make this festival seems like a fun and active and a very vibrant festival to be taking part in.