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On Tet day, families always arrange an altar with various ceremonial items to offer to the ancestors. Decorating the altar may seem easy, but it's not, so tips on beautiful and Feng Shui-friendly altar decoration on Tet day will be useful for arranging the family altar, making Tet day more complete and warm. This article summarizes some notes on how to decorate the altar beautifully on Tet day, in harmony with Feng Shui, so that you can adorn the ancestral altar during the upcoming Tet Mau Tuat 2018.
Ideas for Beautiful and Feng Shui-friendly Altar Decoration on Tet day:
Maintaining the Altar's Pristine Cleanliness
The ancestral altar holds the utmost sanctity in the family; therefore, this area must be impeccably clean. While some families have a year-round tradition of honoring ancestors, others only set up the altar during the New Year. Cleaning the altar meticulously, ensuring it is well-ventilated, and neither too high nor too low is considered essential. It is a gesture of reverence towards the divine and departed ones. Hence, using fresh, clean cloths to wipe off dust from the altar helps keep this area immaculate and auspicious in the first days of the new year.
Spiritual Feng Shui in 2023 and the last days of the year come with specific taboos regarding altar cleaning and incense bowl arrangements. Therefore, before performing the ritual of trimming incense wicks and arranging incense bowls on the last day of the year, one should consult auspicious dates and hours. Information on auspicious dates for altar cleaning in 2023 has been shared by us; feel free to refer for additional details.
Choosing the Right Spot for the Ancestral Altar
The altar's placement must be in the quietest spot possible, avoiding loud noises to allow ancestors peaceful rest. Hence, choosing the right spot for the altar is crucial for your family's beautiful and Feng Shui-friendly Tet altar decoration. Ideally, avoid placing the altar in passageways, as it is believed to deplete the family's wealth. Additionally, refrain from positioning the altar where it is easily visible from outside to prevent distractions and prying eyes.
Furthermore, the altar's location must be far from unclean areas such as bathrooms, toilets, and not squeezed into overly cramped spaces within rooms, as this would compromise the sacred atmosphere of the altar.
Ideas for Beautiful and Feng Shui-friendly Altar Decoration on Tet Day
The altar space should be cool, but that doesn't mean placing it where direct sunlight shines. To enhance the sacred atmosphere, illuminate the altar with oil lamps or candles rather than direct sunlight, creating a warm and mystical ambiance. However, the light from oil lamps and candles should be sufficient to illuminate the items on the altar.
Feng Shui Tips for Tet Altar Decoration
Another note when arranging the altar is to place it in the Northwest direction of the house to align with Feng Shui principles.
Offerings and Rituals on the Ancestral Altar
Depending on each family's circumstances, the decoration and offerings on the Tet altar may vary. However, essential items like sweets, fresh fruits, cherry blossoms, apricot branches, or kumquat trees are indispensable for any family.
In addition, families should prepare one to three incense bowls depending on their ancestral worship culture. Typically, if a family worships both the land deity and ancestors, they need to prepare up to three incense bowls. The central bowl is for the land deity, while the two side bowls are for ancestor worship, including grandparents and parents. In the central area, place five small cups containing water, cigarettes, square sticky rice cakes, and other prepared items.
Choosing the right incense for the ancestral altar on Tet day is also crucial. Nowadays, there are various types of incense available, such as black incense, coil incense, and aloeswood incense. You can choose one type of incense to create a warm atmosphere for the altar.
Even if you have all the necessary fruits, arranging the five-fruit tray can still be challenging. To express sincere gratitude to deities, ancestors, and departed loved ones, follow some detailed instructions below to confidently arrange an aesthetically pleasing five-fruit tray.
With these beautiful and Feng Shui-friendly altar decoration ideas on Tet day, you now have more experience in decorating the ancestral altar this Tet. Additionally, you can refer to some precautions before reading the year-end prayer to ensure the most thorough and meticulous preparation while welcoming deities and ancestors to celebrate Tet with your family.
