Confucianism (儒家) is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius.
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The basic teachings of Confucianism stress the importance of education for moral development of the individual so that the state can be governed by moral virtue rather than by the use of coercive laws.

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Confucius argued that under law, external authorities administer punishments after illegal actions, so people generally behave well without understanding reasons why they should; whereas with ritual, patterns of behavior are internalized and exert their influence before actions are taken, so people behave properly because they fear shame and want to avoid losing face. In this sense, "rite" (Chinese: 禮; pinyin: lǐ) is an ideal form of social norm.

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Internalization is the main process in ritual. Formalized behavior becomes progressively internalized, desires are channeled and personal cultivation becomes the mark of social correctness....Obeying ritual with sincerity makes ritual the most powerful way to cultivate oneself

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Another key Confucian concept is that in order to govern others one must first govern oneself...the king being the axle between the sky, human beings, and the Earth. The very Chinese character for "king" (Chinese: 王; pinyin: wáng) shows the three levels of the universe, united by a single line.

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[He replaced] nobility of blood with nobility of virtue. Jūnzǐ (君子, lit. "lord's child"), which originally signified the younger, non-inheriting, offspring of a noble, became, in Confucius' work, an epithet having much the same meaning and evolution as the English "gentleman". A virtuous plebeian who cultivates his qualities can be a "gentleman", while a shameless son of the king is only a "small man". That he admitted students of different classes as disciples is a clear demonstration that he fought against the feudal structures that defined pre-imperial Chinese society.

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Confucius believed that social disorder often stemmed from failure to perceive, understand, and deal with reality. Fundamentally, then, social disorder can stem from the failure to call things by their proper names, and his solution to this was Zhèngmíng (Chinese: 正名; literally "rectification of terms").

Chinese folk religion is composed of a syncretistic combination of religious practices, including Confucianist ceremonies, ancestor worship, Buddhism and Taoism. Chinese folk religion also retains traces of some of its ancestral neolithic belief systems, which include the veneration of (and communication with) the sun, moon, earth, the heaven, and various stars, as well as communication with animals. It has been practiced by Chinese people for thousands of years, for much of that time alongside Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.

Ceremonies, veneration, legends, festivals and various devotions associated with different folk gods/deities and goddesses form an important part of Chinese culture today. The veneration of secondary gods does not conflict with an individual's chosen religion, but is accepted as a complementary adjunct to Buddhism, Confucianism or Taoism. Some mythical figures in folk culture have been integrated into Buddhism, as in the case of Miao Shan. She is generally thought to have influenced the beliefs about the Buddhist bodhisattva Kuan Yin. This bodhisattva originally was based upon the Indian counterpart Avalokiteshvara. Androgynous in India, this bodhisattva over centuries became a female figure in China and Japan. Kuan Yin is one of the most popular bodishisattvas to which people pray. Other folk deities may date back to pre-Buddhist eras of Chinese history. The Chinese dragon is one of the key religious icons in these beliefs.

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The Chinese call it "ZHOU Li". Li is a universal concept of how to conduct oneself in a set of given circumstances. Or loosely translated into English as politeness, deference, ceremonious, courteous, or even pompous if necessary.

The main idea is that in the absence of LI, you will be luan, or chaos.

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We are nourished by Heaven (tian) and Earth (di) and they are thus deserving of our respect. We are thus the union of Heaven and Earth who are conceived as Male and Female.

[The proceeding portion of the article read like it was written by a High School Dropout schooled in Llewellyn Wiccan lore. I tried to extract what I think they were trying to convey.]

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There are hundreds of gods and goddess as well as "saints," immortals and demigods. After apotheosis, historical figures noted for their bravery or virtue are also venerated and honored with their own festivals.

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Shou Xing (寿星 "god of longevity"), who stands for a healthy and long life. He is portrayed as an old balding man with a walking stick in his right hand and a peach in his left.

The Eight Immortals (八仙) are important literary and artistic figures who were deified after death and became objects of worship.

Shangdi Shangdi (上帝) (lit. Supreme Emperor) is originally the supreme god, synonymous with the concept of Tian. This title/name was later applied to the supreme deity of various religions, including Yu Huang Dadi and the Christian God.

Yaochi Jinmu (瑤池金母), also known as Xi Wangmu (西王母), the "Queen Mother of the West" who reigns over a paradisaical mountain and has the power to make others immortal. In some myths, she is the mother of the Jade Emperor (玉帝) [q.v. Taoism]

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I find natural spiritual expression to be fascinating. I realize that I have a limited sample group, but recurring themes of harmony, but not necessarily subservience, with the elements (nature, Planetary Bodies, etc) and reverence for ones ancestors -- i.e., those things which shape oneself -- predominate in multiple cultures from diverse races.
 

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Mohists believed that all people share a common humanity and because of that inherent condition, we are selfish and only serve our self-interest. This is why Mohists conflicted with the Confucians and ignored Confucius and his argument for the supremacy of ritual and tradition in human life. Mohists believed in the equality of all people and the pursuit of good works motivated by the right reasons. Confucians believe that if you simply act like a good person, you are; even if you do not have a righteous motivation for those actions. However, Mohists believed that if you acted like a righteous person, such morality was meaningless in the eyes of heaven unless you also truly believed in what you were doing. Mozi believed that good works, if not motivated from the heart, cannot be maintained. He taught that "everyone is equal before heaven", and that people should seek to imitate heaven by engaging in the practice of impartial and collective love.

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Should the ruler be unrighteous, seven disasters would result for that nation. These seven disasters are: (1) Neglect of the country's defense, yet there is much lavish on the palace. (2) When pressurized by foreigners, neighbouring countries are not willing to help. (3) The people are engaged in unconstructive work while useless bums are rewarded. (4) Law and regulations became too heavy such that there is repressive fear and people only look after their own good. (5) The ruler lives in a mistaken illusion of his own ability and his country's strength. (6) Trusted people are not loyal while loyal people are not trusted. (7) Lack of food. Ministers are not able to carry out their work. Punishment fails to bring fear and reward fails to bring happiness.

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Unlike Keynesianism's standards of national wealth which is usually rationalized in terms of first-world development, industrialization, capital and assets appreciation, trade surplus or deficit; the measure of a country's wealth in Mohism is a matter of sufficient provision and a large population.

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Mohism promotes a philosophy of impartial caring - a person should care equally for all other individuals, regardless of their actual relationship to him or her. The expression of this indisciminate caring is what makes man a righteous being in Mohist thought. This advocacy of impartiality was a target of attack by the other Chinese philosophical schools, most notably the Confucians who believed that while love should be unconditional, it should not be indiscriminate. For example, children should hold a greater love for their parents than for random strangers.

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In summary, fatalism, the belief that all outcomes are predestined or fated to occur, is an irresponsible belief espoused by those who refuse to acknowledge that their own sinfulness has caused the hardships of their lives.

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Some things seem so right while others are so wrong. Mohism seems similar to Stoicism in many respects, including that most of the material about it was destroyed (q.v. Burning of Books and Burying of Scholars, 213-206 BCE). It has a strong emphasis on compassion. I think it is interesting that it also dismisses activity for intent, something that it is impossible to know in another person. All this compassion, egalitarianism and the unwillingness to make judgment calls on relative worths or strengths seems eerily familiar.

Krampus is a mythical creature who accompanies Saint Nicholas in various regions of the world during the Christmas season, especially Austria. The word Krampus originates from the Old High German word for claw (Krampen). In the Alpine regions, Krampus is represented by an incubus-like creature. While Saint Nicholas gives gifts to good children, the Krampus warns and punishes bad children . Traditionally, young men dress up as the Krampus in the first two weeks of December, particularly in the evening of December 5, and roam the streets frightening children and women with rusty chains and bells. In some rural areas the tradition also includes birching by Krampus, especially of young girls. Images of Krampus usually show him with a basket on his back used to carry away bad children and dump them into the pits of hell.

In October of the lunar calendar, a festival is held to welcome all the gods to Izumo Grand Shrine. It is believed that the gods gather at Izumo Shrine in October to discuss the coming year’s marriages, deaths, and births. For this reason, people around the Izumo area call October kamiarizuki ("the month with gods"), but the rest of Japan calls October kannazuki'' ("the month without gods")

Kannazuki (神無月, also Kaminazuki or Kaminashizuki) is a traditional name for the tenth month in the traditional Japanese calendar.

The name can be translated literally as "the month when there are no gods". In Shinto tradition it was said that the eight million gods of Japan left their shrines and congregated annually at Izumo Taisha. There the month was known as Kamiarizuki (神在月), "the month when the gods are present".

Until 1873 the tenth month of the lunar calendar largely overlapped with the modern month of November. However, after the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in Japan in that year October became generally accepted as the "godless month".

As part of family discussion night, the fabric muslin came up. I looked it up on Wikipedia & verified that it was a cotton fabric. My oldest asked me to type it into Conservapedia. It pulled up an article on Islam.

I kid you not.

http://www.conservapedia.com/Muslin

They make it so hard to despise Liberals and Conservatives equally.