thiêu hóa

Người ta thiêu hóa vàng mã trong một chiếc lư đồng.

Definition

1. Verb (archaic):
   • To burn (paper votive offerings): The term "thiêu hóa" specifically refers to the ritual act of burning paper items, such as imitation money, clothes, or other objects, as offerings to the spirits or the deceased.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Trong nghi lễ, họ thiêu hóa vàng mã cho người đã khuất. (During the ceremony, they burn votive paper for the deceased.)
  • Tục lệ thiêu hóa này có từ rất lâu đời. (This custom of burning paper offerings is very ancient.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is primarily used in historical or traditional religious contexts and is considered archaic in modern Vietnamese. The modern, more common verb for "to burn" in a general sense is "đốt" or "thiêu."

Variants and Related Words

• Đốt (v): to burn, to set fire to (general use).
  • Đốt rác (to burn trash)
• Thiêu (v): to burn, to cremate (often used for complete destruction by fire).
  • Thiêu hủy tài liệu (to incinerate documents)
• Hóa vàng (v): a more contemporary phrase for the ritual burning of votive paper at the end of the Lunar New Year.
  • Sau Tết, gia đình tôi thường hóa vàng. (After Tet, my family usually burns the votive paper.)

Synonyms

• Burn (ritually): to set something on fire, especially as part of a ceremony.
• Incinerate (ceremonially): to destroy something by burning, often with a formal connotation.

Related Cultural Notes

• The practice of "thiêu hóa" is rooted in folk beliefs that objects burned in the material world are transferred to the spirit world for use by ancestors or deities. The items burned are typically symbolic representations made of paper.