Joss paper offerings, burned in Hong Kong
My mother runs the shop, my sister packs and writes each offering, and I handle the online arrangements. We help when you cannot burn offerings where you live.
HK$638 per packet. Names are written by hand; packets are burned together in Hong Kong. Two delivery photographs, with limits explained below.
Choose a packet
All four cost HK$638 per packet, charged in Hong Kong dollars. Choose who the offering is for; check the contents and arrangements on its page.
Ancestors
Remember your family’s deceased
Prepare: Recipient’s name or title, male/female clothing, and sender
Contents & arrangements: Ancestors →Karmic relationships
An offering within the belief of karmic relationships
Prepare: Your name and Gregorian date of birth
Contents & arrangements: Karmic relationships →All beings
An offering with no named recipient
Prepare: Sender’s name; no ancestor details
Contents & arrangements: All beings →Pets
Remember a pet who has died
Prepare: Pet’s name and the sender’s name
Contents & arrangements: Pets →
Each option is a paper-offering burning service in Hong Kong. Tablet storage and other ceremonies are separate arrangements.
Who we are
My mother opened a paper offering shop in Hong Kong and has been selling joss paper there for more than thirty years. Ten-odd years ago she also started working as a 神婆, a spirit medium. My younger sister has worked in the shop for more than twenty years. I'm the son; I run the online half.
Your packet is packed and written by my sister, by hand, one at a time, in our own shop. When they're written, the packets go to a burner in Hong Kong and are burned together. We don't pass your order on to anyone else.
Delivery photographs and their limits
You don't receive anything physical, so we account for it with two photos. They go up on your tracking page within 3 working days of the burning.
Your written packet: one photo per order
A clear close-up of the front of the bag, showing the name you gave us and your order number. This photo is yours alone and is never shown to any other customer.
The whole batch: taken before burning
That day's packets are laid out together and photographed in one shot. Every word on every seal is blurred by hand, so you can't tell which packet is yours. What this photo shows is that the day's batch was ready to be burned.
The burning itself: no photos, no video
While your order is burning, we don't photograph the fire or the people. The burning site isn't keen on people filming at the burner; it draws too much attention. Our About page has a photo of the burner mouth. It shows how things really look, not proof of your order.
Details
Packets are burned together in a batch, usually one batch a day. The blurring is done by hand, so something can be missed (see section 7 of the privacy policy). If you've asked for a particular date, we'll reply to you personally about whether we can do it.
Why we photograph it this way, and how the photos reach you →
How it works
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Order online: choose a packet and fill in the details.
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Writing: my sister writes each name and your order number by hand, then photographs it close up.
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Burning (化寶): usually one batch a day, photographed together before it's burned. If you've asked for a particular date, we'll reply personally about whether we can do it.
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Your proof: within 3 working days of the burning, both photos go up on your tracking page, and we email them to you too.
On an ordinary week, expect both photos about a week after your payment is confirmed. Around Qingming, the seventh lunar month and Chung Yeung it takes longer. Over Lunar New Year there's no burning from the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month to the 2nd day of the new year; burning starts again on the 3rd.
Details
Once your payment is confirmed, your packet is usually burned within three days, and the photos go up within three working days of the burning. The shop stays open on public holidays, so holidays don't add any days. At the burner, two or three packets go in at a time, one after another.
Normally: The website can't take payment online yet. Sending the form doesn't charge you anything; we'll email you how to pay. We start writing your packet once your payment is confirmed.
During the trial period (places in the trial are limited), trial orders work the other way round: we write and burn first, put both photos on your tracking page, and only then email you how to pay.
Common questions
I live overseas. Can you still do it?
Yes. You order online, we burn in Hong Kong, and we send you the two photos. You don't need to come back to Hong Kong.
Will burning one make things go well for me?
We won't say that. This is an offering and a traditional rite: a good deed. What we can commit to is one thing: we'll write your order as you asked, we'll really burn it, and you'll have the photos to see.
I don't know my ancestor's birthday or death anniversary. Is that a problem?
No, and it doesn't change anything. For the ancestor packet we need: the name (or a form of address, such as “my late father”), whether they were a man or a woman, and your name. For the other three: the 冤親債主 packet needs your name and your date of birth on the Gregorian (Western) calendar; the all-beings packet needs only your name; the pet packet needs the pet's name and yours.
Can I change the date, or get a refund?
You can change the date; we don't give refunds. Until the writing starts, you can change the date, the kind of packet or the name. If you decide not to go ahead after paying, the money isn't refunded, but the order can be kept for a later date; it has to be burned within 12 months of ordering. If we write a name wrong or burn on the wrong day, tell us within 7 days of the photos going up and we'll redo one for free. See section 9 of the terms.
Not sure how it's done? We've written it down
Order
All four are the same price, HK$638 (about US$82), charged in Hong Kong dollars.
Email shenposon@gmail.com
We reply Monday to Sunday, 09:00–18:00 Hong Kong time (UTC+8), every day of the year.