Confucianism 

There are no defined practices, but Confucius believed that participation in ritual served to unite people and strengthen the human community.

 

Ancestor veneration: Confucianists practice veneration; it is the honouring of one’s ancestral roots as an act of sincere remembrance. The ritualized commemoration of, communication with, and sacrifice to one's deceased relations. The roots of ancestor veneration lie deep within Confucian roots, and are also a vital part of Chinese life ever since prehistoric times. Confucians made ancestor veneration the focal point of their moral and spiritual message.

 

Birth: At birth Tai-she, or the spirit of the fetus, protects the mother from harm. After birth the mother is given a month to rest and recover. The mother’s family is then responsible for providing everything the child needs on their first, fourth, and twelfth month anniversary.

 

Marriage: Throughout the marriage process couples go through proposal, engagement, dowry, procession, marriage and reception, and the morning after. During the proposal, couples exchange details of the hour, day, month and year of their births. During the following 3 days, if anything unfavorable happens in family of the bride to be then the proposal is rejected. If nothing unfavourable occurs then the proposal is accepted and the engagement is initialized, and the details of a dowry are organized, in which gifts are sent to the bride by the groom. A procession is then initiated to both families’ homes. The marriage and reception then follows, where the couple recites their vows, bonding them together. Lastly is the morning after which is a breakfast gathering where the bride serves the groom’s parents.

 

Death: When a Confucian dies, the relatives of the deceased cry very loudly in order to inform the neighbours of the person’s death. They then wash the body and place it in a coffin along with foods and objects that were significant to him or her. A priest performs the burial ritual. Friends and family follow the coffin to the grave, upholding a willow branch to represent the soul of the deceased. The branch is later carried back to the family altar where it is used to “install” the spirit of the deceased. Liturgies are performed on the seventh, ninth, and forty-ninth days after the burial, and on the first and third anniversaries of the death. A liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular beliefs, customs and traditions.