Dragon Boat festival was celebrated on Thursday in Taiwan. The popular summer solstice holiday takes place on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month on what is considered the hottest day of the year and is said to have the highest amount of yang energy.
According to long-standing myths handed down from grandparents, this makes it a particularly propitious day for burning offerings to the Site Master, a lower order land deity who presides over and protects dwellings.
To prepare for the occasion, some people purchased offerings of spirit money assembled by shopkeepers and sold as a set at ritual goods stores. The pre-packed forms give sellers control of what materials buyers use for burning, thereby affording buyers the convenience of not having to distinguish between the denominations of votive currency, such as longevity gold, treasury money, or good fortune paper.
“It’s ceremonial,” a woman participating in the ritual explained in discussion about the monies before revealing, “I don’t know what purpose the different papers serve. I just know that burning them is right.”