Burning of the spirit money or paper money and now more commercialized using the spirit gifts like paper cars, toys, servants, clothings, shoes or whatever the business of this segment could offer to the market.
Here is a poem for the Qing Ming.
It’s raining hard at the time of the Qing Ming Festival,
The mourner’s heart is overwhelmed on the road upland.
May I ask where there’s a tavern to drown my sorrows?
The shepherd boy points to Xinghua Village in the distance.
3 Years back when I following my hubby to Wen Zhao in China while on his official duty,coincidentally it was on the Qing Ming time, I was very surprised to see that younger generation do not burn such paper money to pay respect to their ancestors but they used flowers. Wreaths were sold every where in super markets or florist stores. The Chinese Engineer who took us around to "Yien Tao Shan" passed through a long stretch of hills and mountain explained to us that Chinese Government now limited the space for the death and to eradicate or a measure to control pollution. Thus, many of the death bodies were cremated and the arches put in the urns were placed in the new grave sites of which we encountered quite a few on the way. I witnessed very little burning or the smoke of the burning of the paper money or paper gifts.
The ridiculous irony is that all those spiritual thingy (libation) make from China are only used in Malaysia or Singapore for the death but very little used in China. Is this not commercial business only?
To me according to my Christian faith, there is no such teaching of burning paper money or paper gifts to the death from the biblical point of view. Rather, I should quote : Luke 16:19 - 31 See, the death are separated from us and a boundary in between us. I can only come to conclude that love the ones that are still alive. Qing Ming is only a day of the year that we remember our loved ones of how we come into existence through them by God Grace and they ,who departed us temporary and we shall met in heaven.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell,[c] where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'
25"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'
27"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
29"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
30" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
31"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "
