舞台前的一排空椅子 The Row of Empty Seats

農曆七月十五是中元節（佛教徒稱它為『盂蘭勝會』），據說這一天地獄大門將打開，把所有鬼魂都釋放出來。為了避免這些鬼魂為禍人間，民間便設食祭祀、誦經作法，目的就是為了祈求鬼魂帮助去除疫病和保佑家宅平安。

在當地華人地區，除了祭祖、普渡以外，當地居民還會邀請传统戏班或歌星前來做表演。他們一般上都會在廟前搭建臨時舞台，並在台前的觀眾席擺放一排椅子。有時主辦單位還會在桌位前放上啤酒等飲料。有些時候您可能會感觉到很奇怪，因為這排椅子竟然是空的，大部分在台前觀看的觀眾都選擇不坐在那些椅子上，而多數樂齡人士都是站著觀賞的，有些甚至是观众自己把家裡的椅子給帶來現場。而那些免費啤酒及飲料這樣摆放著，難到物主不擔心別人把它給喝了？

其實椅子前後还插著旗子，放著一些金銀纸子，您應該預料得到這些位置並不是為我們而設的，而是特意預留給我們所謂的『好兄弟』（鬼魂）。這是我們人間對這些鬼魂的一種招待方式，而這也成為了本土道教徒的一種習俗。

The fifteenth day of the seventh month in the Chinese lunar calendar is called the ghost day where it is believed that the gate of hell will be opened and ghosts and spirits will be released from the lower realm to visit the living. Buddhists and Taoists usually offer prayers, serve food and drinks, burn hell bank notes in forms of joss paper in order to seek blessings from our deceased ancestors.

During the hungry ghost festival, stage shows are very common at Chinese communities. A temporary stage is set up by the roadside or in front of a temple. When the night falls, there will be puppet shows, Chinese Operas and karaoke performances. In front of the temporary stage, the organiser would normally place a row of empty seats together with some food and beverages. Surprisingly, no one seems to snatch for the free food or take the seats but in contrast, they would rather stand to watch the live show while some would even bring their own chairs. This is because the row of seats is actually where the ghosts sit. This eventually becomes the culture of the local Chinese community.

Share on Google Plus