It’s a hazy Friday and Kim and I have the day off from school. Today starts Qingming Festival, where Chinese families celebrate and honor loved ones who have died. Family is very important here year-round and this festival gives everyone a chance to physically honor the dead through a few rituals: families sweep tombs and clean tombstones, leave sacrificial foods at burial sites and altars and burn fake money – also called ancestor money, spirit money or Joss money, along with other offerings.
Hello from the other side! Here’s some cash.
The purpose of the money offering is to help our ancestors financially in the after-world/heaven/hell/whatever you believe in. We burn the money here to send it to the “other side” so our relatives can use it. The smoke carries the item into the next realm, wherever their spirits reside. In addition to money, we can also burn papier mache representations of worldly possessions to send over for our relatives’ use. I’ve seen paper cars, houses, clothing and jewelry. I’ve read about paper cell phones, transportation tickets and passports. You can also fold the money into shapes that represent items your loved ones enjoyed.
We did it our way
Since we don’t have any tombs to sweep or leave food offerings at, we burned paper money. I bought a pack of this money, printed on a tissue-type paper, for 3 RMB (almost 50 cents in US currency.) As you can see, the denomination I bought looks like $100 but the bottom says “one million.” Fifty cents was a great price! Since we don’t have an altar at which to burn said money, we squatted around our wok outside on our patio. We had a pitcher of water nearby in case things went awry also.
As I mentioned earlier, you can fold the money into shapes of things that your family members used to like. Some people also fold the money into the shape of a gold ingot, the currency of ancient China. Kim, Aubrie and I personalized some of our paper offerings to make our relatives happy.
Faster than a Western Union
We held our paper offerings in our right hands, lighting them with our left hand and saying a few words as they ignited. Then we put them in the wok and silently reflected on those we’ve lost. As the paper burned and the smoke rose, I imagined my mom’s spirit hovering above us – like I usually think of her, always near – in a state of humored surprise. She must have thought, “I’ve been up here 17 years…what took you so long?”
If you want to read more about Qingming rituals or anything Chinese really, I suggest reading the Chinese American Family blog. I’ve used Wes’ information a couple times when I’ve had questions about other festivals. Check out his site here http://www.chineseamericanfamily.com/how-to-buy-and-burn-joss-paper/
Our family lived in Singapore from 1885-1988. I remember burning joss money along with experiencing so many of their traditions. These things definitely enriched our lives. Now my adult children are all world travelers any time they have the opportunity. Thank you for sharing your experience
Patricia, we hope to travel to Singapore one day also! So many aspects of Asian culture are fascinating and fun. Thank you for reading!