Customs
Despite looking like play money, hell bank notes are taken seriously by many people. There are several customs and taboos regarding their proper usage.
It is highly offensive in all Chinese communities to give a hell bank note to a living person as a gift. When burning the notes, the notes are placed as a loose bundle, in a manner considered respectful. Alternatively, in some customs, each bank note may be folded in a specific way before being tossed into the fire because of the belief that burning real money brings bad luck.
While the custom of burning hell bank notes is legal and still commonly practiced in China, other burnt paper offerings for the deceased, which include "luxury villas, sedan cars, mistresses and other messy sacrificial items...", will, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, be subject to a ban from 2006 onwards, said to be a feudal superstition.
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Famous quotes containing the word customs:
“O Kate, nice customs curtsy to great kings. Dear Kate, you
and I cannot be confined within the weak list of a country’s
fashion. We are the makers of manners, Kate.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“If someone were to put a proposition before men bidding them choose, after examination, the best customs in the world, each nation would certainly select its own.”
—Herodotus (c. 484–424 B.C.)
“He is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)