We had a traditional Chinese New Year lunch in Chiang Mai with a Thai family that Jim knows well - Yai, Bpen, Melburne, twin girls (Munich and Munch?) and an aunt - in their lovely home nearby.
In a small room, they have a shrine honoring deceased ancestors and we were given lit incense sticks to pray for them. (We were first asked if we were Christian and if this was okay for us to do, which I thought was a very nice gesture.) Later, we witnessed another tradition, that of burning fake Chinese Paper Money known as Ghost Money, an ancient tradition that is said to be comfort to the dead in the afterlife and to assure they do not trouble the living.
On the eve of Chinese New Year, temples are opened all night and the street is packed with Chinese and Thai-Chinese, as they go to pray for an auspicious start to the New Year.
