The Hungry Ghost Festival begins today, but it seems like some impatient spirits from the Netherworld already got a head start — a lorry carrying joss paper went up in flames along the Pan-Island Expressway towards Tuas yesterday afternoon.
Well, joss papers are meant to be burnt after all.
Two fire engines and two fire bikes were quickly dispatched to the scene by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) at about 2:15pm, and personnel extinguished the flames with a hose reel and a compressed air foam backpack. No injuries were reported, according to The Straits Times.
The souls of the dead are believed to be roaming the living world over the next month, and it’s tradition for Buddhists and Taoists to burn offerings in the seventh month of the lunar calendar. Other than joss papers, folks burn stacks of “hell money”, as well as paper crafts of things like sports cars, watches, jewelry, houses and other luxuries to provide material needs for their deceased relatives in the afterlife.
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