Next is 地基主
there's earth/land god（土地公) which encompasses everything, 地基主 is like his local representative for each household
Spiritual land tax 🤔
Discussion
Next is for ancestors, let them know in the spirit realm that the family is doing great by cooking bountiful dishes for them to enjoy.
"Tell them to invite friends 🤭"
There's a some fun traditions here, the candles and incense brings the ancestor spirits in. Pour wine in three intervals to fill up the cup, like a real meal. Then when the incense is getting low, it is time to 筊杯 (moon-shaped coins) until one lands up heads and one lands up tails which means that the spirits have done eating
Going to be yummmmm
The standouts this year are:
Buddha Jumping over Wall (佛跳牆） - this is a traditional dish filled with all sorts of goodies where legend has it that is so good that even a monk will resort to give up his dietary restrictions once he smells it, jumping over a wall in order to have it. My aunt makes this over an entire week as lots of preparations go into this dish
Mullet Roe (烏魚子) - I posted on nostr about this a few months ago, this is our last home-made one 🥲 too many pieces couldn't make it to the new year as it was too delicious 🤤
Shark fin soup (魚翅湯) - shark fin is a bit controversial, but it is still consumed regularly in Taiwan, fisherman work incredibly hard. The shark fin itself doesn't have much flavor, the texture and ability to soak up soup flavors are great though.
好豐盛