Paper effigies of MP3 players and fancy lingerie were among the items that Hong Kong residents burned as offerings to their ancestors Tuesday.
Paper plasma screens with a remote control and paper Sony Playstations were also among the trendy new offerings at the Ching Ming Festival, as well as more traditional candles and imitation bank notes, the South China Morning Post reported.
Food offerings -- made of plastic -- included shark fins, birds' nests and Korean ginseng, the report said.
The Ching Ming Festival is a day when Chinese traditionally remember their ancestors by sweeping their graves, setting out offerings of food and burning paper items as a means of sending them to relatives in the spirit world.
An upturn in the local economy meant people were spending more on gifts for their ancestors, the report said. Still, traditional items such as paper clothing, candles, bank notes and passports remained the most popular.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
