A wealthy afterlife: Choo arranging paper replicas of gold bars into luxury luggage bags at her shop in Rangoon Road, Penang. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: Gold and silver bars and joss paper bouquets are among the most sought-after Qing Ming paraphernalia this year as families honour their loved ones who passed away.
Angeli Choo, 57, who runs a shop in Rangoon Road here selling prayer items, said gold and silver bars are in demand this Qing Ming, or Chinese All-Soul’s Day, likely because families want their dearly departed to enjoy a prosperous afterlife.
“It is the wish of the living that the dead also have enough ‘cash’ to spend in the hereafter,” she said.
The glittering paper gold and silver bar sets, priced between RM48 and RM60, were imported from China, she added.
Choo said credit cards, VIP access cards and travellers’ cheques were also available.
Items such as joss paper, sandals, shoes, mourning sets and afterlife money are sold in sets costing an average of RM100.
Rather than traditional Chinese joss paper, she observed that people today favoured burning contemporary items to express love for the departed.
Previously common items like paper clothes, shoes, cars and houses remain popular, especially among the elderly.
Kenny Lim, 41 , who operates a similar shop in Carnarvon Street here, said they stocked over 300 types of products, with half of them coming from China this year.
“There are locally made ones and others that come from Vietnam as well,” he said.
His shop, Lim said, also offered joss paper bouquets priced between RM20 and RM50 each.
“This locally made joss paper bouquet is in limited supply, and we sell it on a first-come, first-served basis.”
He noted that compared to last year, his current sales had increased by about 20%.
“Younger customers often prefer offerings like mobile phones, badminton sets, gym equipment and video games,” he said, adding that these products range from RM10 to RM200, and he even sold them online.
For families who want more meaningful tributes, Lim said they would choose replicas of luxury cars and designer bags.
Qing Ming, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, is a traditional Chinese festival dedicated to honouring and remembering ancestors.
It falls on the 15th day of the Spring Equinox, April 4 this year, and Chinese families pick a day to go to cemeteries or columbariums to venerate the dead.
They can choose any one of 10 days before or after the actual day to pay their respects.
