Prayer paraphernalia shop owner Shieh makes handmade paper vaccines at his shop in Johor Bahru. Photo: REUTERS/Lim Huey Teng
AS the world scrambles to inoculate people against Covid-19, one store owner in Malaysia is finding his paper vaccines have become popular prayer offering items during a religious festival to honour the deceased.
The Hungry Ghost festival, celebrated by Buddhists and Taoists across Southeast Asia, centres on a belief that the spirits of the dead return to Earth during the seventh month of the Chinese Lunar calendar. During this time, people leave out food items for the dead and burn incense and intricate offerings made of paper resembling things the deceased may have wanted.
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