SOME companies in Singapore are expecting their businesses to be hit by a double whammy this year - the effect of two 'ghost months' in the lunar calendar.
A quirk in this year's calendar has resulted in two seventh months - known as the Hungry Ghost Festival - with the regular seventh month from July 25 to Aug 23 and a leap seventh month from Aug 24 to Sept 21.
A leap lunar month occurs every three years to balance the lunar and solar calendars, explained Master Lee Zhiwang, president of the Taoist Mission. This time round, the leap month occurs in the seventh month.
The Hungry Ghost Festival is celebrated by Taoists and Buddhists, who believe that the gates of hell open every year during the seventh month of the lunar calendar to allow the souls of the dead to roam the earth.
Businesses in real estate, home renovation and wedding banquets have been known to slow down during that period because of the belief that it is inauspicious to move house, renovate, or get married.
Renovation contractors are expecting sluggish business for a longer period than the usual one month.
Madam Janny Chong, who owns Fong Teck Design Renovation Contractor, for example, expects the usual 10-per-cent ghost-month slump to extend into the leap month.
'When it comes to home renovation, some Chinese still feel that it is better to play safe than take a risk. They believe that they would offend the spirits if they renovate their house during that month, which can cause bad luck,' she said.
Sales director Hoe Kong Yee of Overseas Chinese Construction and Renovation Works is bracing himself for a 50-per-cent drop in new contracts, as half his clientele is Chinese.
Property launches, however, are unlikely to be affected.
Major developers such as City Developments (CDL), CapitaLand and Allgreen Properties said the timing of their launches is driven mainly by market sentiments and conditions.
Said CDL's spokesman: 'We find that today's younger generation do not mind purchasing properties in the seventh month. Foreign buyers are also not concerned about this.'
Hotels also said they expect the leap seventh month to have no effect on business.
The Conrad Centennial, for example, has more than 25 wedding banquet bookings for the period - all from Chinese couples who are fully aware of the second seventh month, said its spokesman.
Organisers of the Hungry Ghost Festival said prayers, auctions and entertainment such as getai shows to appease the wandering spirits will be held only in the first month.
Said veteran getai organiser Peter Loh: 'In Hokkien, we say si lang boh lun, which means dead people don't observe leap months.
'Holding two prayer sessions for them is like saying they died twice - and that is not right.'
Master Lee agreed, saying: 'People should not be too worried about the second seventh month, because the gates of hell only open in the actual ghost month.'
The last time a leap seventh month occurred was 38 years ago in 1968. The next one will occur in 2044.
ngsls@sph.com.sg
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