The roman catholic church, as well as the Anglican communion, eastern orthodox churches and oriental orthodox churches venerate saints who are in heaven although not necessary ancestors, the saints are considered departed from earthly life. They are honored through prayers and feast days. Such holidays to honor the dead in Christianity include. All Saints day all souls day and day of the dead east asian cultures ancestral veneration in some cultures such as Chinese, as well as ancestor worship seeks to honor and reminiscence the actions of the deceased, the ultimate homage to the dead. The importance of paying respect to parents and elders lies with the fact that all physical bodily aspects
of ones being were created by ones parents, who continued to tend to ones well being until one is on firm footings. The respect and the homage to parents , is to return this gracious deed to them in life and after, the ultimate homage
The shi corpse personate was a sacrificial representative of a dead relative . during a shi ceremony the ancestral sprit supposedly would enter the resonator, who would eat and drink sacrificial offering and convey spiritual messages . sacrifices are some time made to altars as found for the deceased . This falls under the modes of communication with the Chinese spiritual world concepts. Some of the veneration includes visiting the deceased at their graves and making offerings to the deceased spring, autumn and ghost festivals
Due to the hardships of the late 19th and 20th century china, when meat and poultry were difficult to come by sumptuous feasts are still offered in some Asian countries as a practice to the spirits or ancestors. However, in the orthodox Taoist and Buddhist rituals, only vegetarian food would suffice for those with deceased in the afterlife or hell, elaborate or even houses, care, paper money and shoes are provided so that the deceased will be able to have these items after they died often, paper versions of these objects are burned for the same purposes originally, real life objects were buried with the dead. In time these goods were replaced by full size clay models which in turn were replaced by scale models, and in time today’s paper offering including paper servants.
REFERENCES
Ancestors as elders in Africa (Roy Richard Grinker and
Christopher Burghard)
Dead Join the Living in a Family Celebration Bearak, Barry
(5 September 2010)
Ancestor Worship and Korean Society, (Roger Janelli,
Dawnhel Janelli, Stanford University press 1992 )
Some Reflections on Ancestors Worship in Africa, Major
Fortes, African Systems of thought. Pages 122-142, University of Kent
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