WAYS TO HANDLE THE PORTRAIT OF A DECEASED AFTER THIRD DEATH ANNIVERSARY
Question: Upon the passing of someone, is it a must to take out his memorial portrait on his death anniversary to pay respect to? Is there a time limit as to how long we can do this for? In the event that we stop doing so, how should such a memorial portrait be handled?
Answer: Typically, you can do this for three years. In the past, the mourning period lasted three years. For those who are not able to observe such a long mourning period, they should take out the portrait of the deceased and pay respect to them within the first three death anniversaries, the Ching Ming Festival, Zhong Yuan Festival (Ullambana Festival) and Dong Zhi Festival (Winter Solstice). If you are not going to perform the ritual after three years, you may wrap and store it.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Discourse (Question 322), 18 July 2019
