I was up till 1am last night participating in the annual ritual of praying to the God of Heaven, or Tian Gong. I haven't participated in it for years and I have forgotten all the fanfare that surrounded this day.
Its always on the 9th day of the Lunar New Year and Mom would always prepare offerings of sweet and dried goods, fruits et cetera. There is also always the 2 stalks of sugarcane that are tied to the sides of the gate. I'll usually chop them up and chew them for the days following the prayers, so don't be surprised if you meet up with me and I'm unable to talk. Contrary to what you might think, I have been chewing on sugarcane and not bobbing my head up and down someone's lap. Haha.
There is also the huge piles of paper offerings that as children, my brothers and I would fight over to burn. Since time memorial, men have been fascinated by fire, and I guess thats why. And so it was quite fun last night, everyone staying up late and fussing over the offerings, rituals et cetera.
Oh, and B1 and I still did fight over who was to stoke the burnt offerings. He won. Somethings never change. Haha. There is always next year.
Its always on the 9th day of the Lunar New Year and Mom would always prepare offerings of sweet and dried goods, fruits et cetera. There is also always the 2 stalks of sugarcane that are tied to the sides of the gate. I'll usually chop them up and chew them for the days following the prayers, so don't be surprised if you meet up with me and I'm unable to talk. Contrary to what you might think, I have been chewing on sugarcane and not bobbing my head up and down someone's lap. Haha.
There is also the huge piles of paper offerings that as children, my brothers and I would fight over to burn. Since time memorial, men have been fascinated by fire, and I guess thats why. And so it was quite fun last night, everyone staying up late and fussing over the offerings, rituals et cetera.
Oh, and B1 and I still did fight over who was to stoke the burnt offerings. He won. Somethings never change. Haha. There is always next year.
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