The Meaning of Oil Lamp on Ancestors’ Altar
Fire is an essential part of human life from ancient times to the present. Since the early days, our ancestors have invented ways to create and maintain fire. Today, lighting a fire is still considered a respectful act towards ancestors, and to maintain this tradition, many people still use oil lamps in their daily lives, especially on the altar.
Ancestors’ oil lamps are considered a bridge between the two extremes of yin and yang, bringing peace, luck, and balancing the feng shui for the altar. In particular, the altar lamp also represents the Fire element, which is an indispensable element for the altar space to have the five elements of Metal – Water – Wood – Fire – Earth.
Should You Use Oil Lamps or Electric Lights on the Altar?
Currently, there are more and more designs of electric lights replacing oil lamps. However, each type has its own advantages and disadvantages. Here is an analysis for your reference and consideration.
Oil lamps for the altar help create a warm and cozy atmosphere and carry feng shui meanings as well as folk culture. Traditional oil lamps, when emitting light from the flame, help radiate heat into the space, making the altar warmer. The flame from the oil lamp helps the altar space become more warm and inviting.
On the other hand, burning oil lamps on the altar can cause certain drawbacks. Firstly, oil lamps can easily be spilled or broken, posing a fire hazard and if in a closed room, inhaling too much lamp smoke is not good for health. Secondly, using oil lamps on the altar naturally emits a certain amount of smoke, which is not environmentally friendly. Finally, using oil lamps on the altar requires understanding to place them correctly and in the right quantity.
If you still want to use oil lamps on the altar, make sure you use good quality oil lamps, place them in a safe location, and properly maintain them for safety.
Meanwhile, electric lights on the altar only provide light on the altar and cannot replace the Fire element. However, nowadays most people use oil lamps less and instead use electric lights combined with special occasions like full moon, first day of the month, holidays, and festivals.
Using electric lights can limit the risk of fire and the impact on health due to burning oil lamps.
Therefore, it can be said that whether to use oil lamps or electric lights on the altar depends on the choice of each family. If you value traditional values, oil lamps will be a suitable choice. And if you are a modern person who wants to minimize the risks of fire, busy and unable to pay much attention to worship, electric lights are the optimal solution.
What Should a Standard Altar Have?
In fact, an altar for worship does not have to be fancy, it depends on the conditions, beliefs, and customs of each family. Even if it is minimal, the altar still needs to have: incense burner, three small cups of water, and edible offerings. As for a fully equipped ancestral altar, it will have the following objects:
- Altar table
- Ancestor tablet
- Family photos
- Incense burner
- Twin lights – Dual shrine
- Flower vase – Fruit tray
- Incense stand
- Three small cups of water
- Horizontal calligraphy
- Couplets
The above items are used to decorate the most fully equipped ancestral altar. You can remove horizontal calligraphy and couplets if you don’t have a separate altar room.
Information is for reference and contemplation purposes only
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