An idiotic culture

February 7th, 2008 at 10:41 · Filed Under Blogging, Chinese, Critiques, Social 

Many Chinese are practicing the burning of paper offerings to their Gods. It is an idiotic culture practice as it does not make any senses and is destructive to our environment. These paper offerings, as its name implies, are made of papers which are made of trees. The burning of paper offerings destroy many trees and does not bring any benefits at all. The smell and ashes are a nuisance. Ashes flying everywhere.

The Chinese believes the paper products will turn into real stuff after burning them. There are paper made TV, cars, airplane, cell phones an etc. to be offered to the dead. There are papers with silver, gold and/or other printing symbolize silver, gold and others respectively to be offered to the “Gods”. Take a paper with a square rectangle silver printed on it, after burning, it will turn into silver!

If the “Gods” are almighty, He does not need our offerings. After all, He does not need ashes, does He? We are able to have a job and earn money to buy these paper offerings to be turned into silver/gold for the God. In contrast, the God has to wait to receive offerings from us. If we have the power of turning paper to ashes to gold, aren’t we mightier than God? Why do we need God anyway? Think!

Two of my neighbors practice burning paper offerings. Despite of complaints I have forwarded to them and advise them to use a burning container with lid cover, they ignore and often will just say sorry. Every first day of Chinese New Year we have to suffer from the ashes dirtying our compound and my car which I just washed last night.

I will find a time during which they burn paper offerings and send them a strong verbal protest. This is too much. I hope the government will ban burning paper offerings as it does not bring any benefits but destruction to our environment. If the government is going to pass this bill, I will be 100% supportive. It is time to stop such idiotic and superstitious practice. It is a culture which should not be followed.

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