Feb 8, 2011

Photos: Burning Spirit Papers for the Dead

. Posted by Sherrie Thai of ShaireProductions.com

Chinese New Year: Burning Spirit Papers

In the Chinese Taoist tradition, spirit papers (designs symbolizing good will, wealth and material objects) are burned for the ancestors and gods to be used in the spirit world and afterlife. This practice is similar to the tradition of the Ancient Egyptians, who buried objects (and other living souls) with the deceased to travel with them to the afterlife. Burning spirit papers is done primarily around the Lunar New Year, as a homage to the past.