Talk:Joss paper

What exactly does "joss" mean - what is the connection between joss paper and joss sticks? Or is "joss sticks" a misnomer?

Acording to Webster's, Joss is Chinese Pidgin English for the Portugese word for "god" or rather Deus. Sound it out, you can see it's somewhat similar. Joss sticks are essentially just incense. Maybe "joss paper" and "joss sticks" are called that because they are "paper for god" and "sticks for god"? Sjschen 07:28, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

Joss a Western error

Webster's is correct. The English word "joss" is a double corruption-- a mishearing of Portugese! It really only deserves to be in Wikipedia so it can be corrected but I don't have the text to quote handy. Profhum (talk) 18:50, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

Why?

The article fails to discuss the meaning behind this ritual, why they're burning money or items... Presumably it's some kind of sacrifice of wealth?

Why? A bit of anthropology

No, not a sacrifice. The "money" costs less than a church candle would. Rather, it's done in exactly the same reverent and thoughtful spirit as stopping to ligh a candle for the deceased in a Western church. It had always seemed a somewhat "materialist" custom to me until I had to do it. At my brother in law's funeral, run by a SF Chinatown firm, the next of kin were taken into a special room with a ceremonial furnace and given the "money" to slowly burn. Funerals are to console the living, it's always said. I can only say "sending" the money gave us the illogical feeling that we were doing something for him. I was surprised even as I did it. It occupied us, like all the rituals that day, until the shock could lessen. Perhaps that's why all funerals have some value, even for non-believers. The world doesn't just go on as if nothing had happened, you feel you're doing something, time passes and you can get your breath back. Profhum (talk) 18:50, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

Not that obvious

"Burning actual money is considered to be nonsensical for obvious reasons [...]" Giving anything to the dead is nonsensical. Apart from real money being a greater burden (depending on the wealth of the family, I suppose), what are these obvious reasons? 70.59.112.250 (talk) 03:48, 16 May 2011 (UTC)

Help ID

I've noticed that in many Chinese movies, involving funerals, that people scatter "white circular pieces of paper with a square cut in the center" into the air but they don't actually burn them. Are they another type of money for the dead? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.240.53.163 (talk) 01:54, 10 September 2012 (UTC)

External links modified

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External links modified

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A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for speedy deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for speedy deletion:

• Joss-paper-at-vietnam.jpg

You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 12:51, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

Uncited claims and original research re usage

I've removed a section about North American usage which was clearly original research; my efforts to find citations to support the claims were unsuccessful. If anyone is able to find references about Joss paper's use in North America, the section is certainly appropriate for inclusion. The information about what's included on typical Joss paper may need removal too as it appears to be original research; for now I have tagged it as such. Goyston talk, contribs 19:20, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

Common?

For those who are interested:

• Talk:Mercury_(element)#the_Joss_paper_burning_is_not_a_common_practice

--Dustfreeworld (talk) 05:09, 16 October 2023 (UTC)