Is the great cold solar term the best time to sweep the grave?
So what is the relationship between the traditional ancestor worship custom and the solar terms of the twelfth lunar month? Why do some places want to sweep graves in cold weather? Take my hometown Nanchang, Jiangxi as an example. On a cold day, there is no tradition of sweeping graves. On the contrary, on the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, people will go to the grave to offer sacrifices.
? First of all, the twelfth lunar month was a day long ago when the ancients offered sacrifices to their ancestors and gods, commonly known as "La Worship", so that the gods and ancestors could bless the good weather and abundant crops. Later, this set of customs and rituals was handed down and developed into the current tradition of "ancestor worship in the twelfth lunar month". Sacrifice is the most important thing after the ancient Laba Festival. "Historical Records Qin Benji Justice" has a cloud: In the twelfth lunar month, hunting animals should sacrifice their ancestors at the end of the year, because this day is also established.
Therefore, there is a tradition of ancestor worship in the twelfth lunar month, but there is no limit to the specific date of the twelfth lunar month.
? According to the traditional theory of five elements of geomantic omen, during the period from Laba Festival to December 30th, the gods returned to their original positions, and all kinds of evil spirits were gone. Therefore, no matter whether people build or start to break ground, everything is feasible and forgivable. However, in view of the fact that sweeping graves to pay homage to ancestors is a routine way of remembering relatives and doing it with sincerity, other traditional customs still have to be counted, so don't make a mistake.
? Then, back to the original statement, "welcome in the cold" mainly refers to a series of traditional activities from the cold to the 30th of the twelfth lunar month, including "eating glutinous rice", "drinking porridge", "binge drinking", "sweeping dust", "cooking teeth" and "steaming sacrifices", in which "steaming sacrifices" is to prepare sacrifices, because in the past, the ancients generally paid homage.
? With the passage of time, the simple custom of "steam offering" has gradually developed into today's grave sweeping. Instead, the protagonist of the sacrificial pastry has gradually disappeared, replaced by Yuanbaohua, shoveling weeds around the tomb with a shovel, and covering it with a few new pieces of soil to pray for future protection. Perhaps, it is also a respect for the deceased.
Finally, from the above, we can see: one is the tradition of ancestor worship in the twelfth lunar month, and the other is the custom of steaming confessions in the great cold, which explains why it is necessary to pay homage to ancestors in the great cold, but in some areas, it is only on the day of the great cold, because there are many places to pay homage to ancestors from the solar term to the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, and the dates vary from place to place, but the sacrifice is the same.