Chronicle of Foreign Lands, Volume III, Part 2: The Great Western Ocean

The Kingdom of Prussia original: 布路亞 (Bùlùyà); referring to Borussia or Prussia

...to provide an explanation. They inform the master of the house by letter. Even if the master is angry, he does not dare to punish the person again this likely refers to the priest mediating or granting absolution which protects a penitent from further domestic or civil retribution for a confessed sin. When a person dies, they are all buried within the temple original: 廟 (miào); used here to mean a church or cathedral. When there are later deaths, they dig up those previously buried, move the remains to a corner of the temple, and bury the newcomer in that same spot a reference to the European practice of using ossuaries or charnel houses to conserve space in churchyards.

Both births and deaths are reported to the temple, where the monks original: 僧 (sēng); Aleni uses the terminology of Buddhist monks to describe Catholic priests to his Chinese audience record the family genealogy. However, after three generations have passed, many people still do not know who their ancestors were. When a King ascends the throne, he does not change the era name In imperial China, each emperor began a new "era" (yuan) for dating years. Aleni explains that Europeans use a continuous calendar instead. Because they follow the Religion of the Lord of Heaven original: 天主教 (Tiānzhǔjiào); Catholicism, they calculate the years accordingly.

Every year, they mark the beginning of the new year seven days after the winter solstice The Winter Solstice is December 21/22; seven days later is approximately January 1st. The year is divided into twelve months, regardless of whether the month aligns with the new moon original: 朔 (shuò); the first day of the lunar month. For this reason, some months have thirty-one days. They believe that because the moon borrows its light from the sun, it is not a sufficient standard for the law of the calendar.

Fifty-some days after the winter solstice, the men and women of the country all abstain from eating meat. This is called observing the fast original: 食齋 (shízhāi); this refers to the season of Lent. This lasts for forty-nine days before it concludes. Three days before the end of the fast, the women visit every temple in the area to perform worship; this is called "seeking the ancestors" likely referring to the visiting of the Altars of Repose or the "Seven Churches Visitation" during Holy Week. After these three days, the temple priests take a wooden carving of the Lord of the Religion original: 教主 (jiàozhǔ); here referring to Jesus Christ, specifically a crucifix or an image of the entombed Christ and place it within the temple hall, or sometimes out upon the road...