Ghost Month often falls in August on the Gregorian calendar, because it follows the seventh month of the lunar calendar; during this time many communities across East Asia believe the barrier between the living and the dead thins, and the unseen world draws near.
Families prepare tables of food, burn incense and paper effigies, and float lanterns on rivers to guide wandering spirits home. Streets fill with open-air operas and puppet shows, with the front row left purposely empty for the invisible audience; priests perform public rites to comfort both named ancestors and anonymous souls.
The month is equal parts festival and cautionary period, with people avoiding weddings, major business deals, and sometimes even swimming, out of fear of bad luck or accidental encounters with spirits. At the same time, markets sell special offerings and neighborhoods light up at night with lanterns and paper houses set alight, creating a scene that is both solemn and strangely beautiful.
Younger people may treat these customs as folklore, yet the rituals keep family memory alive and bind communities across generations; Ghost Month blends devotion, superstition, and performance, and in August, many will pause to honor what came before.
Whether you come for the lanterns and puppet shows, or you are curious about how belief shapes daily life, August’s Ghost Month offers a vivid window into how tradition and modernity meet.
Paraluman P. Funtanilla
Paraluman P. Funtanilla is Tutubi News Magazine's Marketing Specialist and is a Contributing Editor. She finished her degree in Communication Arts in De La Salle Lipa. She has worked as a Digital Marketer for start-up businesses and small business spaces for the past two years. She has earned certificates from Coursera on Brand Management: Aligning Business Brand and Behavior and Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content. She also worked with Asia Express Romania TV Show.
- Paraluman P. Funtanilla
- Paraluman P. Funtanilla
- Paraluman P. Funtanilla
- Paraluman P. Funtanilla
