According to the Islamic Calendar, the Holy Month of Ramadhan takes place in August 2010. And according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, The Hungry Ghost Festival also happens in August 2010. Incidentally, they both fall on the same day! One can’t help but feel a surge of strange self awareness on a day like this. We are not writing about superstition or religion. We are also not making facts out of coincidences. Speaking of coincidence, today is Friday the 13th.

Muslims worldwide are obligated to perform the fast during the Holy Month of Ramadhan as it is one of the 6 pillars of Iman or Steadfastness of Belief. Kids from as young as 7 years old are taught to perform the fast, principally abstinence from food and drinks, from dawn to dusk. And fasting is performed throughout a person’s lifetime, for as long as he or she is healthy and able-bodied. It takes a lot of self-discipline. On the spiritual side, it is Holy because it is believed, Allah, the God of Islam, revealed the Holy Quran in this month and no evil spirit is allowed to dwell in human land.

With regard to the Hungry Ghost Festival, the Chinese worshippers believe that it is the month when spirits of their ancestors are free to roam amongst humans. Incidentally, this festival falls on the same day as the first day of the Holy Month of Ramadhan.

If you have been on the streets of Singapore, you would have noticed many Chinese people burning incense and making offerings (food and prayers) as an act of allegiance to this month. It is said that when there are stage performances like Chinese opera and singing, the performers have to perform even if there is not a single person watching. As a kid, I used to see so many of these performances but never took heed of the spiritual significance to the Chinese. Our neighbours are ever so willing to let us sit by their kitchen window to watch special performances like stand up comedies or magic shows. The entertainment was captivating enough to keep us glued to our spots even if it meant standing on the kitchen stool.

Singapore do not tolerate litterbugs, but on a month like the Hungry Ghost Festival, it looks like it is all right to leave the debris of sorts after the ritual. Because most Chinese “make offerings to the various gods” by way of burning incense at temples or just outside their doorsteps, the local council has even made stone structures to contain such rituals in one place, to keep the environment free from debris as much as possible. The above pic was taken after the cleaners clearned the debris.

So here we have Muslims performing fast on a Holy Month and the Chinese paying respects to their ancestors. Although the Hungry Ghost Festival is not practised worldwide, in Singapore it is so explicit that one can’t help but feel a strange sense of spiritual awareness, especially when these two unrelated events occur at the same time.

Henceforth, if you call Singapore home, you would have embraced the many differences such as race, language and religion. In order to live in peace and harmony for the progress of the nation, Singaporeans learn to live with these differences, in order to remain constant with their own. Although most of the time, it is taken with a pinch of salt, the people learn to tolerate and persevere together for the sake of existence as a nation, not as a race, ethnic or religious group. Singapore is home for those who can embrace a pledge to remain united irregardless of race, language and religion. Fortunately, for this young nation which just celebrated its 45th year of independent rule on 9th August 2010, there have been harmony, prosperity and progress.

Indeed, “Attitudes are more important than facts.” George McDonald.