Revised Blog Post 2 for Final Assignment Anthology

Food and Religion

From my perspective, food has a close connection to religion as well as tradition. Different religions have different restrictions on food and people of different ethnicity also have different dietary customs.

Every year, as a tradition, on the first day of Chinese lunar calendar my parents and I will go to the temple as many other Chinese families do. Following our visit to the temple, we will always have vegetarian meals on that day. This is a common religious custom in China and the logic behind it is that, according to Chinese Buddhism, gods are born on the first day of the lunar calendar. Therefore, as a form of respect, people avoid killing animals and eat vegetarian meals on that day. To this day, though many Chinese people no longer have a strong affiliation to Buddhism, this custom remains as a tradition.

Not only does Buddhism have dietary restrictions and customs, but many other religions also do. When I was in high school, I learned from some Jewish students that there is a fasting day every year. In addition, in Jewish culture, there are many limitations on food and the ways that it is prepared.

In conclusion, food is not simply what we eat every day. It contains cultural heritage and has important meaning to different groups of people.

Original Version: http://eng101benhe.blogspot.com/2016/09/blog-post-september-13th-from.html