Jesa

Jesa (Korean: 제사, Korean pronunciation: [tɕe.sa]) is a ceremony commonly practiced in Korea. Jesa functions as a memorial to the ancestors of the participants. Jesa are usually held on the anniversary of the ancestor's death. The majority of Catholics, Buddhists and nonbelievers practice ancestral rites, although Protestants do not. The Catholic ban on ancestral rituals was lifted in 1939, when Pope Pius XII formally recognized ancestral rites as a civil practice (see Chinese Rites controversy). Many Korean Christians, particularly Protestants, no longer practice this rite. Christians generally, and Muslims avoid the rites, and many emigrants avoiding the rites.

Since their origins, Jesa has taken on a certain formality as human civilization has developed, which is sometimes called rituals in Confucianism.