Our Customs and Traditions - The Origins

It is quite to common to see various religious ceremonies being performed at major events of the Chinese family : birth, marriages, festivities, death.

Many view it as mere superstitions or old traditions.

This book analyses the rituals from the Taoist and Buddhist view.

Most are well known, but some is relatively unknown but very important :
(1) like informing the Gods when you are divorced
(2) do not pray to both the paternal and maternal Gods at the same alter without defining the boundaries
(3) placement on dieties is from the view of the dieties, male on the left, female on the right of the dieties. Humans will view it from the opposite side. The dieties left is our right!
(4) Heaven, human, earth is the correct sequence.Hence, heavenly Gods must be place on a higher plane than the ancestral tablets.

It is always good to be informed of other peoples beliefs so as to seek better understanding of our fellow human being. This way, many misunderstandings will not arise!