During the Chinese Spirits of the 7^th Month (known by the misnomer “the Hungry Ghost) Festival, many Chinese communities in Malaysia & Singapore hold traditional Chinese opera using human actors, but only a few places still put on Chinese puppet shows. 

Not everything is strictly traditional about how the Chinese in Penang, Malaysia celebrate the Spirits of the 7^th Month “Hungry Ghost” Festival.  Chinese opera—in either Hokkien & Teowchew styles predominate, & there’s the rare traditional Chinese puppet show to entertain the sudden population explosion of spirits walking around.  But the modern world has invaded tradition as well, and most locales celebrating the festival also include some modern-styled Chinese entertainment.

Perhaps the most enjoyable part for many Malaysian Chinese during the Spirits of the 7^th Month (aka "Hungry Ghost") Festival is the big communal meal that every active site holds. 

An active site means—among other things—a place where there’s a temple or shrine of some sort (they’re nearly everywhere in Penang), a medium to lead sacerdotal duties, a stage & a Chinese opera troupe. 

Apart from Taiwan, there may be no other place in the world today where so many Chinese continue to preserve their ancient religious traditions. Mao Zedong seemingly obliterated most traditional Chinese religionist practices in Mainland China.

Among the Chinese of Malaysia—particularly in the Chinese populations of Penang—these traditions don’t merely survive; they thrive.

Everyone living near any traditional Chinese community knows that this is now the 7^th Chinese month—that remarkable time of year known to many as the Hungry Ghost Festival. My closest local Chinese friend—a traditional religionist—insists that we stop calling it the Hungry Ghost Festival & more properly call it the “Festival of the Spirits of the 7^th Month.”

I want to respect his wishes, but sounds like a mouthful! And in the meantime, everyone else seems to call it the Hungry Ghost Festival.