Laokokok writes about the Hungry Ghost festival in Singapore, which happens in the Seventh Month of the Chinese calendar when ghosts and spirits of the underworld are free to roam the earth. He also talks about some of the characteristic things associated with the festival: wayang, temporary stalls, giant joss sticks, auctions and of course, getai.

I remember the Getai and Wayang shows were very popular in the 70s. During the day time, it was the Wayang show and at that time, the stage were made of wooden poles (nowadays it’s metal poles) and much higher.

As years passed by, the number of audiences watching the wayang is getting lesser and lesser. As the cost for staging a wayang show is high, and the demand is getting lesser – the wayang show somehow is disappearing from the local scene.

In the 80s when the economy was bad, some organisers made do with screening of movies at night during the Hungry Ghost Festivals instead of Wayang and Getai.

Read all about the Hungry Ghost Festival here.

Tags: Hungry Ghost Festival Singapore