Visits, offerings, incense burning
Rituals remind us to say thank you and enjoy our blessings. They also mark our passage in the world. Read on to find out how oil lamps and foot stomping have been used in different countries to cleanse new homes and invite good fortune into them. Modified versions of these customs are still used by some in Canada today.
• The Japanese custom of Aisatsu Mawari, or Five-House Ritual, symbolizes hope for a harmonious relationship with new neighbours. After selecting a date, new home occupants make a courtesy visit to the homes on either side of them and three houses across the street. They offer their new neighbours small gifts, such as a special towel, soap or a small snack (such as Hikkoshi Oba, or buckwheat noodles). “The gifts show appreciation for the inconvenience of the noise and disruption caused during the move,” explains Haruko Ishihara, heritage coordinator of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto.
• The ancient Indian philosophy of Vastu Shastra focuses on the alignment of the house with the natural world. Everything from selection of the building site, placement of furniture and housewarming celebrations should be in harmony with the earth's five natural elements -- water, fire, earth, air and space. Before taking up residence in a home, a special purification rite, or puja, is carried out. This is often done with the assistance of a priest. The home may be purified with smoke from fragrant incense, and water is sprinkled on the floor. An oil lamp is carried through the home, and the family prepares an offering of flowers, sweets or fruit and places it in the home's entryway.
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