"Burning Money", Exploring the Annual Qing Ming Celebration among the Thai-Chinese and their consumption meanings.

Veeravanitkul, Salinthip (2006) "Burning Money", Exploring the Annual Qing Ming Celebration among the Thai-Chinese and their consumption meanings. [Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)] (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Abstract:

Consumer research is one of the most extensively researched areas and has broadened its domain to cover cultural festivals. Investigating consumption phenomena of culture festivals have allowed several themes and insights to be gained, such as consumption rituals and meanings of Thanksgiving (Wallendorf and Arnould 1991), social meanings (McKechnie and Tynan 2006) and commercialisation and materialism (Belk 1985) of Christmas consumption.

With majority of the literature based on western festivals and culture, this dissertation will explore similar areas of consumption meanings of cultural festivals based on a different context. This study attempts to develop a deeper understanding of the impact of the Thai-Chinese culture on consumption by examining different meanings and themes attached to the Qing Ming consumption festival.

Thai-Chinese are among the largest ethnic group in Thailand and have retained several of its ethnic culture and one of the most distinct features is the celebration of their festivals. However, the study on Thai-Chinese and their festivals have been ignored. Firstly, the Thai-Chinese culture in general would be explored together with factors of assimilation to the local Thai culture. Secondly, the consumption meanings will be examined with the Qing Ming festival.

It was found that beliefs towards the Qing Ming festival have decline over the years but the celebration has shown to continue. This is due to the cultural characteristics of the Thai-Chinese people, and their high obedience and respect towards elders, which contributes to the continuance of the festival. Family togetherness has been one of the main motivator for the gathering of the whole family during this season. The meanings of consumption are further examined using McKechnie and Tynan (2006) conceptualisation of McCracken (1986) and Holt (1995) work as a framework, providing a deeper understanding of the Thai-Chinese culture on consumption.

Item Type: Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)
Keywords: Qing Ming, Thai-Chinese, Consumption Meanings, McKechnie and Tynan, McCracken, Holt, Hofstede
Depositing User: EP, Services
Date Deposited: 30 Nov 2006
Last Modified: 13 May 2018 01:24
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/20234

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