The Por Tor Festival comes every year and is intended to make merit for the dead and for spirits.

During the seventh Chinese month which is the same as the ninth lunar month of the Thais (in July or August) according to ancient Chinese tradition, the gates of Hades burst open, unleashing the spirits of the restless dead, or the Hungry Ghosts. The day that spirituals are released for visit their home and relatives. Phuket, with its large ethnic Chinese population, celebrates with the Por Tor Festival, an event similar to the Hungry Ghost Festivals of China.

It centers around the making of large cakes in the shape of turtles, following the Chinese belief that the turtle is the symbol of longevity. At the end of today’s prayer sessions, the turtle cakes will be sliced up and given away to anyone who wants to live longer to eat. This is done because turtles live to great age and it is believed that by making such offering worshippers may extend the length of their lives. It is an important merit-making festival.