| Ancestor Veneration |
Article Index for Ancestor |
Website Links For Worship |
Information AboutAncestor Veneration |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ANCESTOR WORSHIP | |
| anthropology | |
| death customs | |
| religious behaviour and experience | |
| chinese traditional religion | |
| anthropology of religion | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
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Ancestor worship (拜祖), also '''ancestor veneration''' (敬祖), is a Religious Practice based on the belief that one's Ancestor s possess Supernatural powers. All Culture s attach Ritual significance to the passing of loved ones, but this is not equivalent to ancestor worship. Rather, ancestor Worship involves the same sort of religious practices one sees when people appease or Supplicate other entities thought to exist and possess supernatural powers, such as God s, Angel s, Saint s, or Demon s. While far from universal, ancestor worship or ancestor veneration occurs in societies with every degree of social, political, and technological complexity, and it remains an important component of various religious practices in modern times. Ancestor worship in some cultures (such as Chinese ) seeks to honor the deeds, memories, and sacrifice of the deceased. Much of the worship includes visiting the deceased at their graves, making offerings to the deceased to provide for their welfare in the Afterlife . For instance, a Toothbrush , Comb , Towel , Slipper s, and Water are provided by the Coffin so that the deceased will be able to have these items after they have died. '' Spirit Money '' (also called Hell Notes ) is sometimes burned as an Offering to ancestors as well for the afterlife. The living may regard the ancestors as "guardian angels" to them, perhaps in protecting them from serious accidents, or guiding their path in life. It is in that sense that "ancestor veneration" may convey a more accurate sense of what practitioners, such as the Chinese and other belief, "Ancestorhood" is a state of being that everyone can attain upon death, so an ancestor is not fundamentally different in the way a deity is. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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