Quiz for Everybody
For each picture (namely A, B and C)
(1) What is the festive occasion?
(2) What are these people doing?
(3) Do you think food offered can be consumed by human? Give reason/s.
Picture A
Picture B
Picture C
老师,
这3张照片我都有做过。I try to answer and am interested to know further. Usually, I follow blindly what my parents do.
Picture A - 7月鬼节
A. 老师, some said must pray on 1st, 15th and 30th of that month. For me, I do so on 1st and 30th, ok?
B. For offerings, usually I bought oranges, biscuits, sweets and a pack of pre-pack offering items (tea bag, joss sticks, etc), ok?
C. I noticed there are green and red joss sticks, why? And when we 插香, is 2 or 3 sticks?
D. I did this offering below my block. And usually, I would say, pray for 出路平安 (in this month) on the 1st and thank you for 报佑 (for the whole month) on the 30th. Is this correct?
E. Some say once started with yearly offering, cannot stop, is this true?
Picture B and C looks same to me. Both are offerings to ancester. Picture C is carry out on the tablet hall while B is on the common area outside the urn hall? Oh yes, I didn't see clearly if picture B is purely vegetarian offering.
A. There are a quite a few offerings yearly. 请明, 祭日, 冬日, etc.
B. Usually, we will buy the ancestor favorite food. After prayer, we gather around the area and eat some while chatting among the family members. And we bring back some of the leftover too. I think we cannot eat these since the offering is carry out at public area. 老师, my mum usually likes to buy alot of food. Is this correct? If we can't take these food, food wastage and I feel this is not right. Can we buy more offerings like money, clothings and electronic gadgets then?
C. For joss sticks, is 2 or 3 sticks?
D. Usually, I don't know what to say during offering. 我想以后我会说保佑子孙平安。Do we need to 指名道姓 while praying or just say our name only or just say 子孙来祭拜您? Do they know who we are?
E. I did once yearly for 请明 with my husband for his 阿公 and 阿嬷。His parents hardly went, but I told my husband we must go ourselves every year (after our customary wedding).
老师, both my grandmother and grandparents (father side) are at the same temple. My mum will pray to both sides too but separately (of course more items for the intended one) whenever she went for either side 祭日, is this alright? Her thinking is, since there, may as well pray to the side too.
Sorry, so many questions.