Exercise 3
Ghosts in High Spirits as Gates of Hell Open Singapore, AP
Nobody seems overly worried, but people in Singapore believe that the gate of hell opened yesterday.
Chinese tradition holds that gates stay open during the seventh lunar month-August 7 to September 5 in the Western calendar this year when the spirits of the dead are free to roam among the living.
Restless spooks with living relatives are said to visit their homes to share the comforts there. But the ghosts of those who died without descendant, or who were ignored by their kin while alive, may wander the streets, hungry and envious.
Unless appeased with food and entertainment before they return, these wayward spirits might cause mischief.
The origin of the festival is obscure, but ancestor worship has always been part of Chinese culture. The legend credits the festival to Empeor Wu of the Lisang Dynasty (A.D.502-577), who in a dream was told to organize rites to venerate the dead. (Adapted from “Ghosts in High Spirit as Gatea of Hell Open.” 1994: 6)