Woodlands Lian Tian Gong held its annual getai at Choa Chu Kang Cemetery on Saturday night, 5 September, continuing a tradition that has now lasted 21 years.
This year’s event also came with something new. For the first time, the temple set up a small stage in front of its mobile getai float for singers to perform on.
About 50 committee members, devotees and other personnel were involved in the event, which included performances, prayers and a bidding segment.
Temple Has Held Cemetery Getai Since 2006
Lian Tian Gong began organising getai performances at the cemetery in 2006.
A temple committee member told 8world that it returns during the seventh lunar month each year to hold performances and prayer rituals for the deceased and wandering spirits.
The date is not fixed beforehand. According to the temple representative, the temple consults the deities each year using divination blocks before deciding when to hold the event.
This year, it was held on the 24th day of the seventh lunar month, which fell on 5 September.
The temple representative said there are only five locations available for applications each day, so the organisers applied as soon as bookings opened.
Small Stage Added for Singers for First Time
In previous years, singers performed from the mobile getai float itself.
For the 2026 edition, the temple added a separate small stage directly in front of the float.
The temple representative said the move was partly intended to preserve opportunities for getai singers as the number of such performances declines, while also keeping the getai tradition going.
Five singers were scheduled to perform: Chen Kaiqing, Li Yuhan, Lai Xingcheng, Zhuang Qingyu and He Peilin.
Given the cemetery setting, the songs chosen for the night were generally slower and more sentimental, with the performances intended for the deceased.
Performers also carried props shaped like butterflies, bats and cranes. According to the temple representative, the different designs have symbolic meanings. Bats are associated with good fortune, while butterflies and cranes carry meanings connected to ancestors and the departed.
16-Foot Paper House and About 300 Clothing Boxes Prepared
The programme also included a traditional bidding activity involving religious and ceremonial items.
The getai and prayer activities were expected to continue until around 11pm.
As part of the rituals, the temple prepared a paper house about 16 feet tall and roughly 300 boxes of paper clothing to be burnt.
While holding a getai inside a cemetery may be unusual to many Singaporeans, it has become an annual seventh-month tradition for Lian Tian Gong, with the temple returning to Choa Chu Kang Cemetery every year since 2006.
