Burning joss paper, often called spirit money, is understood as a way of providing material support to ancestors in the unseen realm. The paper offerings are believed to be transformed into usable money or goods after they are burned, allowing the departed to live comfortably, settle obligations, and avoid hardship. This rests on the view that the spirit world mirrors the human world, so that ancestors continue to have needs, desires, and social relationships. To care for them ritually is to extend the bonds of family beyond the boundary of death.

At the same time, the practice serves to maintain and renew the relationship between the living and the dead. By offering spirit money, descendants express filial piety, gratitude, and ongoing responsibility toward those who came before them. This care for ancestral well-being is not merely symbolic; it is seen as a way of repaying what is owed to the lineage, acknowledging the ancestors’ role in establishing and sustaining the family. The ritual thus becomes a moral act, affirming that obligations to parents and forebears do not end with physical death.

There is also a reciprocal dimension to this offering. When ancestors are well-provided for through joss paper, they are more likely to offer protection, guidance, and blessings to their descendants. The flow of care is envisioned as mutual: the living support the dead, and the dead, in turn, watch over the living, helping to secure good fortune and avert misfortune. In this way, burning spirit money helps ensure the spiritual welfare of the ancestors while preserving harmony between the visible and invisible members of the family.

Finally, this practice is woven into the rhythm of ritual life, carried out at specific festivals, death anniversaries, and important family occasions. Observing these rites fulfills long-standing cultural and religious expectations, marking respect and remembrance at appointed times. The act of burning, with its rising smoke and vanishing paper, becomes a powerful symbol of communication between realms, a gesture that both honors the past and seeks blessing for the present.