The Curious Case of the Post-Ghost Festival Gold Market

Even though we’re past the halfway point of the seventh lunar month, traditional markets in Ho Chi Minh City are still bustling with customers shopping for ritual offerings to honor the hungry ghosts.

Take, for instance, the area dedicated to ritual goods adjacent to Thiiec Market in District 11, which has been bustling with shoppers preparing for the seventh lunar month.

This year’s offerings are quite diverse, including packages containing dozens of items, from clothing and paper effigies to gold and silver paper, Vietnamese and US currency, bowls and dishes, cakes, and shoes.

These packages come in three sizes—small, medium, and large—and are priced between VND 25,000 and VND 70,000. They are popular among customers as they fill up large offering trays.

Customers can also purchase other items to offer, such as clothing and shoes for both men and women, as well as luxury branded perfumes. Even the ritual cell phones have been upgraded to 4G smartphones, and smart TVs with voice-controlled remotes are now available.

The stalls also sell ritual iPhones, MacBooks, iPads, Apple Watches, AirPods, and accessories like power outlets and chargers.

In addition to paper money and gold, merchants are also offering bank and Visa cards with chips for use anywhere in the world. There are also carefully designed and attractive jewelry sets featuring gold plating, precious stones, and jade.

Ms. Nga, a ritual goods trader at Ba Chieu Market in Binh Thanh District, shared that the seventh lunar month, especially after the full moon, is when many people start making offerings to the hungry ghosts, which is why the market is so lively at this time.

According to Mr. Huynh, while purchasing power has improved compared to the same period last year, prices for most ritual goods have remained stable, with only a slight increase of a few percent for goods made from genuine materials.