23 July 2009

Religion or Superstition?

Many Asian cultures are tagged as being superstitious. According to one of my Chinese–Singaporean friends, Singaporeans are even more "superstitious" than Chinese. From avoiding certain events at particular times of the year or placement of objects in the home in a particular way (or the home itself), it is easy to see how particular habits and beliefs may be labeled as "superstitious."

But where does religion end and superstition begin (or vice versa)? Regardless of denomination or creed, could what we consider superstitious in fact function like religion?
To get to the crux of the matter, let's look at something considered "superstitious" by Western and Eastern cultures alike: Ghost Month (zhong yuan jie).

A friend here in Singapore, who considers himself a bit "superstitious," warned me of the unlucky month of July.
In Chinese tradition, the number 7 is considered "spiritist" or "ghostly"; hence, the celebration of Ghost Month in July. This is when ancestors are thought to come out from the lower realm. You are not suppose to swim or stay out late, and you won't see many weddings since this is not an auspicious month, my friend told me.

Admittedly, this did seem a bit "superstitious" at first. But consider it in comparison to All Saint's or All Soul's Day and Dia de los Muertos. The first are considered highly religious, with All Saint's Day being a Holy Day of Obligation for this who are Roman Catholic (a mortal sin if you don't attend Mass). These days commemorate deceased ancestors and saints that both have and have not attained "entrance" into heaven.

Finding its roots in the Roman Catholic All Soul's Day, Dia de los Muertos is celebrated by Spanish-speaking communities worldwide. It is thought the dead souls find it easier to congregate among the living on this day. As in Chinese tradition, where often meals are prepared with empty seats around the dinner table, favorite foods and memorabilia of the departed are placed on altars on the Day of the Dead to encourage visits from ancestors.

All three commemorations mentioned above actually seem more similar than different. And while getting married in July may be considered superstitiously unlucky for the Chinese, I for one would think twice before celebrating marriage on Friday the 13th or Halloween. Perhaps before labeling something "superstitious" we should take a look at our own definition of "religious."

6 comments:

  1. Correction: All Saints Day is Nov. lst and a day Catholics are obliged, in some places of the world, under certain conditions to celebrate Mass. All Souls Day is November 2, and there is no obligation to go to Mass on this day.
    Grandma

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  2. Uh oh...have I been committing a mortal sin all these years? Just kidding! Thanks for the correction. And for those of you wanting more clarification regarding Dia de los Muertos and the religious roots of Halloween, here are some further comments from Grandma:

    "Regarding Dia de los Muertos, indeed this day is celebrated differently in differently cultures, but it cannot honestly be viewed as religious even though some mistakenly do. In some cultures the Church tolerates this celebration as family picnic time, even celebrating Mass for the deceased at this time but does not believe the spirits of the dead return in some way on this day.

    It is important to understand the origin of what some people/cultures see as religion. The devil often can and does come as an angel of light. You said you would not consider getting married on Halloween. Your opinion probably comes from the culture you experienced of Halloween possibly being of the occult, or scary, or comical origins. Consider the original meaning of Halloween, 'all hallowed/holy eve', celebrated on October 31, the day before we celebrate All Saints day and it becomes a time of 'being with' or touching 'holiness' or the 'transcendent' part of God."

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  3. Man, I guess I'm in trouble...born in July, married in July. What hope is there for me??? All kidding aside, I do love your posts, Sarah. Fun way to keep in touch and get a feel for what you're doing when you're so far away!

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  4. Ha! You must hang out with lucky people. But I think your year (horse) is pretty lucky so it's all good! I'm glad you like reading the posts. I'm catching up on your blog, too. It looks like a fun one!

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  5. Guess I can start swimming again in a couple days. I thought I was just lazy, not that I had a good reason for being lazy. Thanks for the auspiciousness.

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  6. I'll send more "auspiciousness" your way, Jim. So I guess that means you have a pool; I'm coming over for a swim when we get back in town!

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