Usually, every year in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, Chinese who believe in Buddhism, Taoism and folk religions in Singapore will follow the tradition of offering sacrifices to the dead to show their respect. According to traditional Taoism, most people in China believe that the "Gate of Hell" will be opened this month, allowing released ghosts to roam the world. Buddhism, Taoism and folk religions have different interpretations of the significance of this festival. Buddhism emphasizes goodness; Taoism focuses on "Purdue" for those lonely souls released from the underworld; Folk religion emphasizes offering sacrifices to ghosts and gods, which can eliminate disasters and solve problems and get rich.
Although Taoists and Buddhists celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with different meanings, the celebrations in Singapore are similar, such as offering food as sacrifices, burning gold and silver paper and so on. Therefore, every Mid-Autumn Festival, good men and women can be seen burning gold and silver paper everywhere on the roadside and downstairs of HDB, and HDB and many apartments have specially set up gold and silver paper incinerators to provide convenience for residents.
At present, the common way for Singaporeans to celebrate is to organize large-scale China Yuan Festival among neighbors. China Yuan Festival elects a furnace owner to preside over the affairs of China Yuan Festival every year, and collects donations from its members every month. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, these monthly donations will be used to buy sacrifices. After the worship, all the sacrifices were distributed to the members, one for each.
In the local area, street Puduo takes townhouses or streets as Pudu units of the Mid-Yuan Festival; Markets, hawker centers, shopping centers and shops are the main parts of this city. As for the temple, there is no doubt. In addition, local factories and industrial buildings generally have Purdue organizations.
In recent years, due to the improvement of people's living standards, it is also common to celebrate the Lantern Festival in China, and it is also very ostentatious. Some non-governmental organizations or companies have also established the China Yuan Festival. Judging from this trend, this traditional custom in China is flourishing year by year.
In Singapore, ordinary street people and street people will worship big candles and incense in rows, some of which are more than ten or twenty feet high and very spectacular. In the sacrificial shed, please post a statue of Pudu Gong, who is six or two feet long, with blue teeth and fangs, which is extremely scary. Put it in a cloth shed to worship, light three big incense and two big candles in front of him. The more ways to sacrifice, the better. There are roast pigs, chickens and ducks, white rice buns, fruits, canned food, sugar and oil.
As for the temple, there is an altar in the temple, and the big mirror of "Orchid Club" or "Migong Emperor" is hung in the middle. As for the sacred table, there are three lanterns, three statues and three incense burners. There are white rice, bronze mirror, Gu Jian, small scale, scissors, ruler, umbrella and lighted kerosene lamp in the bucket lamp, which the ancients thought could ward off evil spirits.
Sacrifices are offered on the long table in front of the altar, and supplies such as birds, animals, fish, crabs and aquatic animals are made of flour, which is extremely rich.
There are many folk taboos in July of the lunar calendar in Singapore. Simply put, there are mainly the following aspects:
1. Don't go out at night.
2. Don't talk nonsense, especially ghosts and gods.
3. Don't step on roadside sacrifices and paper dust.
Don't get into the water
5. No wedding
6. Don't move, don't break ground, and don't drive.
7. Don't open an umbrella in the room at night.
8. Don't kill moths and other flies that fly into the house.
9. Don't go into the forest, especially at night.
10. No clothes at night
1 1. Don't pat people on the shoulder and head.
12. Don't take pictures at night.
13. Don't wear high heels at night.
14. Don't play disc fairy