What should we pay attention to when sweeping tombs during Qingming Festival? Tomb sweeping taboos and procedures
Introduction: Qingming Festival is one of the three major ghost festivals in my country, but Qingming Festival belongs to the ghost festival and is not usually named as such. This is because it mainly worships good ghosts, family ghosts, or the souls of close relatives, and focuses on expressing filial piety and family affection. So, what should we pay attention to when sweeping tombs during Qingming Festival? What are the taboos and procedures for tomb sweeping? Let’s take a look together! March is the last month of spring, when all things will revive and begin a beautiful growth process. The third month of the lunar calendar is a time full of vitality because it is the most beautiful.1. Qingming Festival is a way to show filial piety to ancestorsQingming Festival is an activity to commemorate the deceased. Qingming Festival sacrifice is very important. In China or in the eyes of Chinese people, ancestor worship is tied together with filial piety. If you do not participate in ancestor worship, you are an unfilial person and a person who forgets your ancestors.Qingming Festival refers to tomb sweeping. Many cemeteries in the south of the Yangtze River and other southern regions are located on the mountains, so it is called "Baishan". In the north, it is commonly known as tomb sweeping or visiting the graves. 2. Is there any ethnic distinction in tomb sweeping during Qingming Festival?Tomb sweeping on Qingming Festival is called "respect for ancestors" and is the biggest day for ancestor worship and tomb sweeping in my country. Therefore, most of the Han people and some ethnic minorities in my country visit their ancestors’ graves on Qingming Festival. However, I would like to remind my friends that some ethnic groups also hold similar activities on other days.3. What is the usual procedure for tomb sweeping during Qingming Festival?According to custom, the order of tomb sweeping is to sweep the tomb first, that is, to clean the cemetery.The second is sacrifice, which is a crucial procedure. First, it is to express grief, and second, it is to communicate with ancestors. Because mountains have spirits but no masters, and ancestors have masters but no spirits, communicating with ancestors can better obtain the spiritual energy of mountains and rivers. This is Feng Shui. When sweeping the graves, people bring wine, food, fruits, paper money and other items to the cemetery, offer the food in front of their relatives' graves, burn the paper money, add new soil to the graves, repair the graves, break off a few green branches and insert them on the graves, and put some paper money on top so that others can see that there are still descendants in this grave, and then kowtow and pay their respects. Afterwards, people sit together and have a meal and drink; they can also fly kites, or even compete with each other and carry out related activities. Women and children would also pick some willow branches nearby and string the steamed food offerings together with the willow twigs. Some people weave willow branches into a basket shape and wear it on their heads, with the saying "If you don't wear willow branches on Qingming Festival, you will turn into a yellow dog in your next life." That is: repair the grave - burn incense - offer meat - toast - worship - set off firecrackers to bid farewell... 4. Is it better to visit the graves earlier during Qingming Festival?There are two timing issues involved here:First, can we visit the graves on Qingming Festival or at any time before or after it? The sooner the better? As long as it is during the Qingming Festival, it depends on your convenience. Of course, every place has some local customs, and we must respect these customs. Also, according to some customs, there are some differences in the time for visiting the graves of relatives who have passed away within a year and those who have passed away more than a year ago. Remind friends to abide by local customs. Secondly, is it better to set off as early as possible on the day of tomb sweeping? The answer is not necessarily. It depends on your own situation. The best time is 5-7 o'clock, which is the hour of Mao. In the ancient calendar, it was one. Of course, it's not usually that early. 5. Can pregnant women visit graves during the Qingming Festival?Generally speaking, pregnant women should avoid Qingming festival mountain-visiting activities, and that’s not all. Strictly speaking, women who are menstruating should not participate in such activities, especially the Qingming Festival grave-worshipping activities after 3 pm. A reminder to friends: Our country is vast, and the customs of tomb sweeping in the north and south are slightly different. For example, in the south, both sons and daughters usually go to sweep the tombs, while in some places in the north, daughters usually do not go to sweep the tombs. If the daughter is married, she will go to sweep the tombs with her husband.6. Can I worship my ancestors at home during Qingming Festival?The Qingming Festival memorial ceremony should be held in person at the cemetery, but for various reasons, many people cannot return to their hometowns to participate in the Qingming Festival worship activities, so they can also worship their ancestors at home. The method is to place food for worship on the balcony or in the living room towards the direction of your hometown, burn three incense sticks, bow three times, and silently recite relevant words. Then, paper money is burned as a sacrifice. This is very important.7. What flowers are suitable to buy for mourning the deceased on Qingming Festival?Usually it is chrysanthemum, because in ancient my country, chrysanthemum was regarded as a flower of sustenance, and it has the meaning of missing and remembrance. White chrysanthemums are the most suitable, and they can also be matched with some green grass, such as lilies, green leaves, carnations, etc., which will be more beautiful. Yellow chrysanthemum is known as longevity chrysanthemum and is more suitable for visiting patients.8. Why should we look at our foreheads on the morning of Qingming Festival?On the morning of tomb-sweeping day, before washing up, look at your forehead in the mirror to see if there is a dark complexion. If there is, it means that your luck is low and you should try to avoid tomb-sweeping on that day. If you must go, you can wear jade, peach wood, etc. to resolve the problem.9. Do I need to fast before tomb sweeping?It is best to fast before tomb sweeping: When you set out to sweep the tombs, it is best not to eat or to eat vegetarian food, and dress neatly to show courtesy and respect to the ancestors. This point is very important, but for some friends you may need to put yourself in a difficult position.10. Why do we need to offer incense to the mountain gods and the land gods when we visit graves?When sweeping the tomb, in addition to placing the incense, candles, paper money, flowers, fruits, wine and other items and the things the deceased liked to eat (the amount of sacrificial gifts is optional) in front of the tomb, you also have to light incense and candles and offer the incense to the mountain god and land god who look after the cemetery, because the mountain god and land god are the patron saints of the cemetery. After that, people kowtow to their ancestors respectfully, burn incense and offer flowers, then burn paper money and pour wine (i.e. pour wine on the ground, which represents a toast to the ancestors). After the ceremony, they can have a meal and drink, and leave after all the incense and candles are lit.Summary: The three points introduced in the above article are specific analyses of the taboos and related procedures for tomb sweeping on Qingming Festival. You can refer to them. I hope this article can help you! |
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