Thursday, August 16, 2007
The ghost wears Prada.
The ghost wears Prada.
Disclaimer:
This entry and any information within the entry,
contains sensitive information and is intended for entertainment purposes only.
If you are not an intended observer of this entry,
you must not disseminate, modify,
plagiarize or take action in reliance upon it, unless permitted by me, Benn is Mua.
None of the information provided on in this entry may be used,
reproduced in any form or by any means,
without permission from me, again.
The annual Hungry Ghost Festival is here again.
Boo.
Go ahead, groan and complain all you want.
Besides, we have every reason and right to.
Quote Wikipedia, "The Hungry Ghost Festival is a traditional Chinese festival, which is celebrated by Chinese in many countries."
Take note, that it uses the word 'traditional', and not 'modern'.
- Food!
So tell me, are we, the new generation, a bunch of "traditionally-minded" people?
To be really honest, no.
Most of us aren't.
What the hell is a Hungry Ghost Festival anyway?
It doesn't even sound interesting at all.
These days, festivals have taken on a new form, and name.
If the name appeals to the public, it gets more attention.
Here are some, that you might be familiar with.
CosFest.
FoodFest.
SingFest.
ArtFest.
WaterFest.
Get it? BreakFest, as in, breakfast?
Never mind.
So if we(the new generation) were to have it our way,
and if we were to rename the festival,
it would be simple, short and sweet.
Something like...
GhostFest.
And this, could be it's poster.
- Yes, I know I did a great job at editing that.
I say, isn't that much, much more appealing?
Well, let's just hope that our parents and grandparents hate that,
because that would mean that it's probably cool.
Next, we ask ourselves.
Why do we even practice this... festival in the first place?
Let's talk about the pros and the cons, shall we?
I'll start with the cons first, because I feel like it.
Cons
As we all know, Earth is dying.
People are suffering.
Global warming is real.
Yes, that same old, boring "save-the-Earth" crap again.
But think about it.
Think about the amount of carbon dioxiode that is being produced
when the joss sticks and 'hell money' are being burnt.
Carbon Footprint, is what I'm talking about.
Word-of-the-day
Carbon Footprint [car-burn food-print]
-noun
1. a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment, in terms of the amount of green house gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide.
2. the shit that we leave behind.
Sure, one family is not a problem.
But every family who practices this tradition?
Big problem.
Alright, let's move on to the next issue.
You see, the government has been really considerate and thoughtful.
The government has done a great job
to ensure racial tolerance among the different races in Singapore.
- Does this look familiar to you?
Yes, that's right.
Our government has been thoughtful enough
to deploy several of these containers around each housing estate.
Most of the people make use of the facilities that have been provided.
But there are always a few morons who just want to be special.
Tell me, how are we going to walk if the 'hell money' are sprawled all over the pavement?
Pavements are for people, like you and me, to walk on.
It is not a furnace, nor a place to start a bonfire.
Besides, burning 'hell money' on pavements should be considered as vandalism.
The black soot that has been left behind,
after all the 'hell money' has been burnt, leaves unsightly markings on the pavement.
So beware, don't burn your offerings on the pavement.
Unless you want to "offer" a fine.
Pros
Now, this festival does have an impact on our lifestyles, to a certain extent.
Kids stop pissing under those poor tress during the Hungry Ghost Festival.
Teenagers are home early, possibly even before their curfew, during the Hungry Ghost Festival.
The food industy benefits, probably because of the food people are buying to use as offerings, during the Hungry Ghost Festival.
Singapore's economy goes up, and because there's 7% GST, it goes up even higher during the Hungry Ghost Festival.
So I guessing, that the Hungry Ghost Festival isn't such a lousy festival after all.
It's just that the name is uncool.
That's all I'm saying, that's all I'm saying.
Good or bad, you decide.
Personally, I feel that it would be perfectly fine,
if these terms and conditions were met.
1) No ashes flying into my house.
2) No burning of joss sticks, candles or 'hell money' on the pavement.
3) No 'ge tai' past 10pm.
(the last time my neighbourhood has a 'ge tai', it only ended when it was past midnight.)
That's all I have to say.
Happy Hungry Ghost Festival, people.
(happy hungry ghost, just sounds wrong.)
Happy haunting!
P.S: I wonder... if we can Trick-or-Treat on Hungry Ghost Festival.
Edit:
My sincere apologies to readers who were offended after reading my entry.
As I've stated earlier, everything in this entry was intended only for entertainment purposes.
If it makes you feel any better, I think I'd be burning in hell when I die.
Peace out.
Benn blogged at 3:30 AM