My arrival in Singapore was smooth, the airport was clean, the clearance was quick, and the welcome was warm. What a mix of shiny sleek high-rises and low charming colonial architecture, rich modern malls on wide boulevards, and the pulsating density of Serangoon with its millions of closely packed stalls of Indian, Chinese and Malay foods. There is even a Macdonald’s tucked away in the heart of Serangoon. Thankfully it gets lost amidst the exciting flavors of the other local cuisines. Indian, Chinese and Malay are the three dominant ethnic groups that make up most Singaporeans, and I noticed that the national anthem on TV was sung by people in costumes that reflected this ethnic diversity.
On the way to the university I spotted a temple very ornately decorated, with a massive awning and canopy as though for a huge festival of sorts. My colleague told me that it was for the Seventh Month Festival of the Hungry Ghosts. The seventh month of the Chinese lunar year falls in August and with it came the festival of the Hungry Ghosts. This festival is taken very seriously by the Chinese. It is believed that the gates of the other world are opened and all the spirits are released from the ethereal world into the real world. Filial piety and the duty to look after one’s parents and ancestors is observed as the spirits of deceased family members and ancestors are honored by the living descendants through food offerings and the burning of incense. Sometimes paper lanterns are floated into the water to light the path home for souls that might be lost. Meals are served in homes with empty places at the tables for the deceased ancestors to dine along with the living descendants in each family. It is a time to pay respect to and honor the elders and the departed.
Interestingly, almost every Asian country in my travels appeared to have a variation of this custom and cultural value that venerated the elders of the community. Perhaps customs such as these ensure the prolonged adult-child continuity that is characteristic of traditional societies around the world, and that is manifested in the inter-dependent parent-child interactions often seen amongst families from those communities...
