Ancestor Money and Paper Offerings

Why families burn them, what blessings they seek, and why the Halloween season can feel especially potent

Ancestor money—also called joss paper, spirit money, or “hell bank notes”—is paper made expressly to be burned as an offering to loved ones who have passed on. Museums and university collections describe the burn itself as the act that “conveys” value to the other world, which is why notes and foil sheets are not simply symbolic tokens but ritual instruments meant to reach the deceased. The Lam Museum of Anthropology explains that burning spirit money is integral at funerals and during key memorial observances, while the British Museum’s definition of “hell money” explicitly notes burning as the means by which value is delivered to the ancestors.

Across Chinese communities, offerings extend beyond paper currency. Families also send paper houses, clothing, and daily goods so that comfort and dignity accompany the departed. Europe’s Museum for Sepulchral Culture in Kassel describes these crafted items as gifts for ancestors rather than toys, rooted in a worldview where the welfare of the dead and the wellbeing of the living household are intertwined; it is precisely because the living care for the dead that the relationship remains harmonious. In the U.S., funeral guides likewise describe joss paper and paper goods as a way to provide material support in the afterlife.

For many practitioners, the heart of the custom lies in the blessings they hope will flow back to the living. Anthropological writing that surveys ancestor veneration across cultures states plainly that descendants are believed to receive guidance, protection, and good fortune through faithful remembrance and offerings. In practical family language this often means hopes for strong health in children, steady paths at work, and the gradual growth of household prosperity—all framed as blessings that arise from a cared-for bond with the ancestors. 

Timing matters to people because ritual power is felt most strongly when remembrance is concentrated. In Chinese tradition, families commonly burn offerings at funerals and during memorial days such as Qingming (Tomb-Sweeping Day), when graves are tended and incense and joss paper are offered. Western-calendar readers will recognize an echo of this rhythm each autumn, when many cultures remember the dead at the same time. Timothy S. Y. Lam Museum of Anthropology

That shared autumn season is why households in the U.S. and Europe often feel the period around Halloween to be especially effective for ancestor rites. The roots of Halloween in the Celtic festival of Samhain center on a liminal time when, as Britannica puts it, the world of the gods was believed to be perceptible to humans—a way of saying the boundary between realms was thinnest. Immediately after Halloween, Western Christianity keeps All Souls’ Day on November 2, dedicated to prayer and remembrance for the departed; in the same window, Día de los Muertos in Mexico honors loved ones with home altars and cemetery visits. When families align their paper-offering practice with this cluster of observances—October 31 through November 2—they often report a stronger sense of connection, presence, and answered prayers for the living. In other words, many people experience this season as a naturally heightened time for asking the ancestors’ help with health, smoother work, and growing prosperity. 

None of this negates traditional Chinese dates such as Qingming; it simply recognizes that Western calendars concentrate remembrance in late October and early November, and that many households find the custom especially moving and effective when practiced in step with the wider culture’s season of the dead. The cross-cultural convergence—Samhain’s “thin veil,” All Souls’ prayers, and Day-of-the-Dead remembrance—gives people permission to ask boldly for blessings and to thank the ancestors when help arrives. 

If you are new to the practice, begin in a simple, sincere way. Choose a safe place to burn, speak the names of those you honor, tell them what the family needs now, and offer notes or folded gold-foil ingots first; when the time is right, add paper clothing or a small paper house so that comfort accompanies them. The intention is straightforward: the living care for the dead, and the dead care for the living. Over time many families come to trust that steady remembrance opens the way for protection, good health, favorable career movement, and a healthier flow of wealth in the household. 

Preparing to offer and to shop

Our store will carry thoughtfully curated sets for memorial days and for the Halloween–All Souls’–Day-of-the-Dead window. The ancestor money sets focus on high-quality gold and silver foil sheets and “hell bank” notes designed for clean, complete burning. Paper-goods bundles add clothing, and for those who want to provide shelter we offer artisan-made paper houses in several sizes. If you prefer to mark both calendars—Qingming in spring and All Souls’ in early November—we can assemble a year-round kit so the rhythm of remembrance continues.

Please observe local fire rules and safety guidance where you live. The spiritual benefits described here reflect traditional and widely reported beliefs rather than medical or financial guarantees; they are shared to help you practice with reverence and confidence during the season when so many in the West are remembering their dead.