Ancient ancestral worship ceremony held in Xiamen

A grand ancestral worship ceremony is held in Baijiaoci village of Xiamen, Southeast China's Fujian province on Dec 14, 2015. [Photo/people.cn]

Baijiaoci village, located in the Tong'an district of Xiamen, Southeast China's Fujian province, held a grand ancestral worship ceremony on Dec 14, 2015. At the ceremony, which is held once every 12 years, villagers offer sacrifices to ancestors and pray for prosperity, happiness and a good harvest.

Early in the morning, each of the 212 families of Baijiaoci village butchered a pig and brought it to the public square in front of the ancestral temple. The pigs were carefully decorated: red paper was wrapped around their faces and oranges were stuffed in their mouths. Thick stacks of joss paper were placed on the pigs' backs. In addition to pigs, the villagers also offered fish, roosters, ducks, wine and cigarettes to their ancestors. With so many sacrifices placed in front of the ancestral temple and along the village road, the scene of the ceremony was very grand.

As the highest level of ancestral worship, the ceremony was hosted by a Taoist priest. The sacrificial altar was also decorated.

The ceremony requires every family to offer a pig, so only wealthy villages can afford such a big event.