The Hungry Ghost Festival, also known as the Yulan Festival, Zhongyuan Festival or simply the Ghost Festival, is a tradition celebrated in many east Asian countries with Buddhist and Taoist heritage, in the seventh month of the lunar calendar. This is the time for people to prepare offerings to please the spirits of the dead, who are believed to roam freely among the living.
This year, In Hong Kong, it takes place on 18 August. This is the date when it’s traditionally believed that spirits and ghosts from the underworld come to Earth and visit relatives and friends they left behind.
The Chiu Chow natives of Hong Kong have faithfully continued the Hungry Ghost Festival tradition every year for over a century and even expanded it into a whole month of festivities around the main day. At every turn, people can be seen carrying out ancestral worship ceremonies and rituals to welcome and soothe the wandering ghosts who have come to visit. Activities include burning paper offerings on the street, performing Chiu Chow operas for thanksgiving to the deities, burning sculptures of the Ghost King, distributing auspicious rice and auctioning objects to bring the buyer luck for the rest of the year. The month-long celebrations are simply an unmissable experience.
For more information, get in touch with our reservation team in Hong Kong at: hongkong@destination-asia.com
