If you were to walk into a Chinese household where the family is of the Taoist or Buddhist faith, most probably you would get to see an altar in the living room. It may be an altar for Buddha or some Chinese Gods; but there may also be an altar for family members who have departed, usually parents or grandparents. Chinese are known to practise ancestor worship; a family affair actually, usually held at homes and consists of offering joss sticks to the tablets representing the deceased; and candles and food items too when family members gather to pray and pay homage to them on the anniversaries of their death or on special occasions like Cheng Beng. The practice is said to have started during the Zhou Dynasty (1122- 256 BC) with the emergence of Confucianism and Taoism; both of which exhort the importance of paying proper respect to elders, especially parents and grandparents, deceased included.
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