Ghost money, orphan ghost
s, and hungry
ghosts are all part of The Feast of Hungry Ghosts
celebrated on September 6th every year by Singapore
. They believe that the soul
s of the dead
roam the earth in the month of September
. On the sixth, people offer gifts to the spirit
s of their ancestor
s and for "orphan ghosts" who have no one to care for them.
Gifts are usually food, clothes, and fake paper money called "ghost money". The Singaporean Chinese believe that if this money is burned, the ghost spirits will get the "ghost" of the money. Food and clothes that are offered can be taken from the altar at a later date so that the spirits can have the "ghosts" of the food and clothing.
I once had dinner
at a friend's house whose parents practice this holiday
. They didn't have any dessert
prepared so my friend's mom told him to get some pear
s from another room. I was confused since I knew that these were offered for his grandfather
's spirit, but he explained that since his grandfather was a ghost, he could eat the ghost
of the pears.