Monday, September 2nd, is the last day of Ghost Month, a month when orphan souls of the departed are believed to be given passage to the natural world. As part of this festival, spirits are fêted with offerings of food that usually have good symbolic significance.
Fruits such as sweet golden tangerines, for example, sound like luck while apples represent peace. Vivid red dragon fruit are associated with good fortune for their color while bright green jujubes can signal an invitation or mean quickly. Meanwhile, plantains invite friendship while pineapples invite abundance. In this way, believers can decide what message they wish to deliver to spirits in their selection of food.
Aside from fresh fruit, a platter with three kinds of cooked meat offerings, usually consisting of pork, poultry and fish, may be presented on special occasions. Among Buddhists and vegetarians especially, elemental condiments for cooking, including a small dish of salt, a small dish of sugar and a fresh ginger root may be offered as a substitute in place of the three meats. Such delicacies may serve either as an expression of faith and sincerity or as a means of exchange, depending on an individual’s beliefs and wishes.
Food offerings today bear little resemblance to the gifts of the past. However, this change does not preclude people from continuing to enjoy them and they remain an important part of the ritual.