Hello and welcome to the latest Innersound Ancestry posting.

Today I am going to start looking at examples from around the world of the practise of respect for ancestors . Innersound Ancestry has it's roots in Korea so my first point of call is therefore the Korean peninsula.

Korean culture is steeped in Taoist, Confuscian and Buddhist tradition. During the year there are several big celebrations/ceremonies that happen throughout the country. The biggest of these is the lunar new year ceremony which happens usually in the month of February. The dates vary in the western calendar  as in the west we follow a solar calendar and Korean ceremonies follow the lunar calendar. People usually refer to the lunar new year as the Chinese new year but if you don't wish to offend Easterners who are not from China it is more polite and more accurate to refer to it as the Lunar New Year.

At Innersound Ancestry we also celebrate these occasions in a similar fashion to the way it is conducted on the Korean peninsula. Lunar new year ceremony is known as 'seol nal' in Korea and is one of the two biggest holidays of the year. The other big ceremony is Chuseok which is held on the 15th of the 8th month of the lunar calendar which is harvest time.

For both of these holidays food and wine is offered to ancestral spirits during what is known as 'cha-rye' or ancestral rite. The picture above shows a  typical offerings for 'cha-rye'. Food and wine are offered to the ancestors. This will include meat and fish, rice and soup and many side dishes. Rice cake, red dates and dried persimmon are also delicacies which are offered to the ancestors.There are certain foods that are forbidden for ceremonies such as spicy food and peaches.

The names of the deceased ancestors are written on the wooden tablets at the back of the table.

the women in a korean household will cook the day before a big celebration day so that the cha-rye can be held early in the morning. After the food has been offered to the ancestors the descendants will eat the ceremony food.

More on Korean culture and Ancestral rites next time.

regards,

Innersound Ancestry Team