Blogiversary: 10/2/2013

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Ancestor Veneration

Having a Korean mother, whom came from a predominantly Buddhist family, my mom always remembers her ancestors through a veneration ceremony.  Her mother died in Korea, and the date is now forgotten, but every August, during the full moon, my mother puts fruit and water and a burning candle outside.

She does the same for her father every full moon in September.

On my dad's birthday (December 18) and on the anniversary of his death (February 20), my mom does the same for my father, even though they were divorced and remarried to other people.  For him, she puts out chicken, orange juice and a candle.  My dad once told my mom that he could eat chicken every day of the year.  His favorite fruit drink was orange juice, so she would keep him stocked up on orange juice when they were married.  

One morning, my mom came outside and found that the chicken was gone.  Even though it was most likely an animal that took the chicken, she felt excited to see it was eaten.

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