Ghost Month or also commonly known as “Hungry Ghost Festival” is the month for Chinese to pray and make offerings for the souls of their loveones who passed away, just as Christian Catholics have “All Souls Day” during every month of November. In Chinese tradition the 7th month of Lunar calendar which is August is the “Ghost Month” and the 15th day of the seven month is the “Ghost Day” which deceased believed to visit the living as the “gates of hell” are opened and free the ghost to roam around the Earth.

During the festival numbers of large paper bins are seen along the roadside for the believers to use for their traditional rites just like “worshipping the spirit” by burning incense and joss sticks, burning paper money which they believe would give fortune in the afterlife and offering a prayer and array of foods like (Orange, rice, Chinese cake which is especially made only  for the occassion and etc.) to the hungry ghost.

I got invited for a Hungry Ghost Dinner and Auction. It’s another way of celebrating the festival. It was a dinner and auction of chinese stuff which attended by an employees of a known company here in Singapore. It was enjoyable but quite embarrassing moment for me. I forgot it was a Chinese dinner party and there were no spoon and fork served on the table and I never ever used chopsticks in my entire life before. I don’t know how to use them and I had no idea of the proper etiquette of using it. I feared I might offend them and I was scared might I mess up and drop the foods on the table or on my dress. I didn’t want to look funny to everybody and I didn’t want to embarrass the people who invited me. Thanked God I managed to  eat the delicious foods by the helped of my kind companion (whom I consider as my big sister here in Singapore) by putting foods on my plate :)… It was so shameful.

A complete dinner meal were served that begins with a hot soup, followed by a fresh fish, meat, vegetable and seafoods for main course and dessert and tea/coffee afterward. I didn’t know the exquisite names of the dishes but I have to say it was one of the best meals I have ever had. It was extraordinary and unusually different. Apart from how the foods tasted, the presentation of the dishes themselves were eye-catching, I was impressed.