huat ah!
well, it was literally huat ah! cos the family joss stick urn burst into flames! this was considered to be a very very good and auspicious thing for the family for the coming year - where everything will be very smooth. and the fact that it happened during the celebrations of the birthday of the jade emperor (玉皇) made this even more signficant! this occurance made my brother a very happy person! for me, i guessed it was not a matter of whether i believe in it or not, but the fact that my brother was very happy about it was enough to make me happy. for me personally, i tend to follow buddhist rites more than taoists rites these days. nonetheless, i do still observe taoist practises as a form of respect and that it also gives peace of mind to my mum.
anyway, the celebration of the jade emperor's birthday has been a significant thing for my family for as long as i could remember. this celebration has been one of the greatest annual highlights of my family. and to commemorate this joyous occasion, the preparations would start several days before the day itself and prepare the altar on the evening of the eighth day (the eve) with an assortment of offerings. of cos, amongst all these offerings would be the all important pair of sugar canes decorated with yellow strips of paper (tng ji - literal translation - 'long monies') (see my last para below on the story behind why sugar canes are used). the prayers would start in the evening where the head of the family would burn 3 huge joss sticks to the jade emperor. and becos my dad used to work at nite, my mum would get me to represent him. never would i imagine my mum to kneel behind me as i hold the 3 huge joss sticks. to a small boy, this was a huge responsibility! and it made me feel like an adult. anyway, once the joss sticks were burned, we would wait till the clock strikes 12am (actually it should be 11pm) before we chop off the sugar cane leaves and burn it together with the joss papers. once done, we would then make offerings to the house gods before we end the celebrations. in recent years when my mum stayed with me, my mum would simply go to the temple to offer her prayers. after moving back to my brother's place (where the family altar is) following my dad's demise, my brother decided to do the prayers again. and to help him, i went to his place to do the nec paper folding, arrangements, etc.
ok, back to the reasons why we use sugar canes - according to legends, during the ming dynasty, the hokkiens in fujian province were wrongly persecuted by other ethnic chinese as a foreign enemy in a regional war. they ran and hid in the sugar cane plantations as their villages were destroyed. in the sugar cane plantations, they prayed to the jade emperor for their survivor and that they would be safe. after some time, the persecutors gave up their hunt for them and left. this day coincided with the birthday of the jade emperor and as a gesture of thanks, the tradition of using sugar canes to celebrate the event became a part of the hokkien community's culture. the celebration of the jade emperor's birthday remain one of the biggest and most significant event amongst hokkiens, particularly those in malaysia and singapore, till today.
:-)
well, it was literally huat ah! cos the family joss stick urn burst into flames! this was considered to be a very very good and auspicious thing for the family for the coming year - where everything will be very smooth. and the fact that it happened during the celebrations of the birthday of the jade emperor (玉皇) made this even more signficant! this occurance made my brother a very happy person! for me, i guessed it was not a matter of whether i believe in it or not, but the fact that my brother was very happy about it was enough to make me happy. for me personally, i tend to follow buddhist rites more than taoists rites these days. nonetheless, i do still observe taoist practises as a form of respect and that it also gives peace of mind to my mum.
anyway, the celebration of the jade emperor's birthday has been a significant thing for my family for as long as i could remember. this celebration has been one of the greatest annual highlights of my family. and to commemorate this joyous occasion, the preparations would start several days before the day itself and prepare the altar on the evening of the eighth day (the eve) with an assortment of offerings. of cos, amongst all these offerings would be the all important pair of sugar canes decorated with yellow strips of paper (tng ji - literal translation - 'long monies') (see my last para below on the story behind why sugar canes are used). the prayers would start in the evening where the head of the family would burn 3 huge joss sticks to the jade emperor. and becos my dad used to work at nite, my mum would get me to represent him. never would i imagine my mum to kneel behind me as i hold the 3 huge joss sticks. to a small boy, this was a huge responsibility! and it made me feel like an adult. anyway, once the joss sticks were burned, we would wait till the clock strikes 12am (actually it should be 11pm) before we chop off the sugar cane leaves and burn it together with the joss papers. once done, we would then make offerings to the house gods before we end the celebrations. in recent years when my mum stayed with me, my mum would simply go to the temple to offer her prayers. after moving back to my brother's place (where the family altar is) following my dad's demise, my brother decided to do the prayers again. and to help him, i went to his place to do the nec paper folding, arrangements, etc.
ok, back to the reasons why we use sugar canes - according to legends, during the ming dynasty, the hokkiens in fujian province were wrongly persecuted by other ethnic chinese as a foreign enemy in a regional war. they ran and hid in the sugar cane plantations as their villages were destroyed. in the sugar cane plantations, they prayed to the jade emperor for their survivor and that they would be safe. after some time, the persecutors gave up their hunt for them and left. this day coincided with the birthday of the jade emperor and as a gesture of thanks, the tradition of using sugar canes to celebrate the event became a part of the hokkien community's culture. the celebration of the jade emperor's birthday remain one of the biggest and most significant event amongst hokkiens, particularly those in malaysia and singapore, till today.
:-)
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