All Hell Broke Lose...this month?

Ever heard of the Hungry Ghost Festival? The one when the Gate of Hell Opens for one month and all the Ghosts (good or bad) are given visas by the Hell Imperial to tour this human world freely.

Yeap! It's this month! The whole month of August which is the 7th month of the Chinese calendar.

And yes, it's a Chinese belief. (not sure if any other races has this belief) How do I know?

Well, from a very young and tender age, I've been brainwashed into believing that there is this special creature lurking and creeping around me, waiting in the darkest corner for every chance it has to do nasty things to me. And of course I won't be able to see them cos they can only be seen by people who has three eyes! And I don't have 3 eyes! (wonder who has..?)

So I kinda got scared at that time (even a lil now, sometimes) when I approached dark, quiet and misty places. But of course so far after a few decades, I still haven't get my third eye yet. Thank God, halleluyah!

Yes, this creature I was referring to, some call them 'spirit', some call them 'ghost' and some say 'lost soul'. As for me I called them 'Those Things'. Not really a nice name but who cares.

I think it's kind of funny as most people I know do not believe in 'Those Things' but at the same time they do not deny 'Those Things' exist. It is just like the air we breathe in everyday...
it's around us everywhere but we can't see it. So that doesn't mean that it does not exist. God, no one has seen him and yet people believe He exist and they worship Him.

So, who can really tell if 'Those Things' really exist??? Unless you have 3 eyes, yes!

Okay okay, back to our Hungry Ghost Month. So whether you believe or not, I still want to give you a bit of the taboos during this month. Believe it or Not...Your choice!

NO Late Nights Outings
It is believed that during this month 'those things' will roam our world freely at night after 11pm (I think they are afraid of daylight but I'm not sure why after 11pm), they'll have parties on the street, in the park, or just about anywhere especially dark spacious quiet windy misty places. Aah, you see the haze came just in time for this festival, right? So...to avoid crashing into their parties (I guess even you might not like it) do not go out after 11 at night this whole month.

NO Mountain Hiking and Swimming
Okay, 'those things' are hungry during this month, I guess (or else we won't call it the Hungry Ghost...right?) maybe because when they come up to our world they cannot take with them the things that were burnt for them before? Hmm..well just wild guess...No! they are hungry for our souls! It is believe that if 'those things' die of an unexpected death,e.g.drowning, burnt, fell off a cliff, road accident etc.etc.etc. then their souls will not rest in peace and forever trapped in that unrest state unless they found another soul to replace them. So, they will try to get a replacement whenever they can, meaning they'll kill you! Wah! worse then Achmed! So beware, No swimming in the river or sea or better don't swim at all if you do not want to experience being pull into the water 10m deep by your legs. To all the water sports competitors in the Beijing Olympic Games, Good Luck to you!
Also no mountain hiking or you will find yourself lost in the mountain and of course the end result...die lor!

NO Wedding or Grand Celebrations
Getting married is a definite no no this month. Your bride might be snatched by 'Those Things' and your marriage will not be happy or worse your marriage won't last.
Can someone please tell this to those 88 couples (or is it 888) who are getting married on the 08.08.08 mass wedding ceremony.

Do not answer to calls at night
Not phone calls lah, it's if you happened to hear anyone calling out your name at night, do not answer straight away. Make sure you really sees and recognises that person before you acknowledge him. You see, 'Those Things' are very smart. They know your name (I don't know how they do that, already said they are smart mah) so if you acknowledge their call, they can snatched your soul out of your body and... you turn out dead lah. Wah! Damn smart!

Be Extra Cautious on the Road this month
You know that 'Those Things' are coming all out for you this month, so do be extra careful while you are on the road. Be it you're driving, walking or just plain standing. I happened to know a friend who is an insurance agent telling me every year during this month insurance claims will double. I can't help but to think about the accident that happened in the Kajang-Cheras highway on the Friday, Aug 1. The accident that involved 8 vehicles and left 2 dead, 6 injured, 5 in critical condition and it happened to be the first day of the Hungry Ghost Month. What a coincidence.

The above are some of the brainwashing stuff my grandma told me. Whatever statements or comments made are purely my own thoughts and is not my intention to offend anybody, anything and definitely any religion in whichever way.