It’s has happened during Covid lockdowns, but interestingly, it’s becoming even more common these days. Scavengers are stealing food offerings to departed ancestors and spirits. According to Chinese law, offering are not considered rubbish and taking them away from graveyards is an act of theft.
But as a kid, I’ve often seen my elders remove edible offerings and serving them at the dining table after prayers. The rationale is that food should not be wasted just as some homeless guy in the video explained. If you’re the one who have left food offerings on the altar or tombstone, would you mind if some homeless person helps himself?
But I guess that’s not the real worry. The real worry is, are we going to see a repeat of the Great Famine?