Definition

1. Noun:
   • Joss paper / Spirit money: Paper printed with designs resembling coins, banknotes, or other valuable items, which is burned as an offering to ancestors or spirits in traditional Vietnamese and East Asian rituals.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Vào ngày rằm, gia đình tôi thường đốt giấy tiền để cúng ông bà. (On the full moon day, my family often burns joss paper to worship our grandparents.)
  • Cửa hàng bán rất nhiều loại giấy tiền vàng mã. (The shop sells many types of spirit money and votive papers.)

Advanced Usage

• The practice of burning giấy tiền is based on the belief that the smoke carries these symbolic items to the spirit world, providing the deceased with wealth and necessities.
• It is a key element in ceremonies like cúng rằm (full moon worship), cúng giỗ (death anniversary worship), and Tết (Lunar New Year).

Variants and Related Words

• Vàng mã (n): A broader term for votive offerings, often including paper replicas of clothes, houses, and other goods, not just money.
• Tiền âm phủ (n): Literally "underworld money"; another common term for spirit money.

Synonyms

• Spirit money
• Ghost money
• Hell bank notes
• Joss paper (though this can also refer to plain paper used in rituals)

Related Cultural Context

• Đốt giấy tiền (v): The act of burning joss paper as an offering.
  • Việc đốt giấy tiền là một phần của nghi lễ truyền thống. (Burning joss paper is part of the traditional ritual.)