The Hungry Ghost Festival

To day 20th August is the 7th lunar month of the Chinese calender and The Hungry Ghost Festival start and end on the 30th day of the 7th month.
On the eve of the full moon in the 7th month The Hell Emperor will release all the souls and the hell will be open. Souls from purgatory will have their vacation for 30 days and will be visiting their family , relatives and friends.
For those souls with no place to go they will be roaming the streets to beg for offerings by people who offer paper money, joss sticks , fruits, foods, wine etc at the road sides.
However for the business community street vendors, hawkers, shop owners, restaurants there will be a big celebration with religious ceremonies, puppet or opera stage show or modern singing show etc. This kind of big scale celebration normally start and for a few nights ending on the 14th day and all offering will burn at mid night.

I will be visiting such bigger scale celebration near my area and will publish the photos when it is available.

In the meantime there are things you should not do and stay at home at night.
1. Do not go out at night, if must do return early before mid night.
2. Do not travel for vacation or drive long distance at night.
3. Be careful when walking and turning into a street, road corner, turn with a round curve.
4. Do not pick up any objectives that look good and attractive from the road and bring home.Who know there is soul  inside!
5. When walking home at night if some one call you from behind don't turn your head behind and look around.
6. If you do morning walking exercises start after 6 am or later and best with a companion and bring along a walking stick.

If you understand that there only two type of souls release by the Hell Emperor which are all registered and control by the Yama's Servant ( Horse face and Cow face). The other souls are those that die without proper burial ceremony and place to call home. Those who die in the wilderness during the wars or who body cannot be located or lost for ever. Such souls are stateless and cannot enter hell and just wondering around and become ghost. 
The Horse face and Cow face are hell police to catch them and put for 9 trail at the 9 court of justice for their crime and wrong doing committed.
During Ghost festival in the lunar month of 7th they only dare to venture out openly in the streets and mix with all other legal souls. This is the only time they can get foods and other offering given by the people. Those early when their time no due yet will try to look for a replacement! just who is the unlucky one... so don't go out at night and stay late during the 7th month.