What are the taboos about wearing Xiao?
When a loved one dies, what are the taboos during mourning? Although people are reluctant to talk about death, after all, birth, aging, illness and death are objective realities that no one can escape. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the taboos of funeral customs in order to avoid taboos and follow customs.
1. Taboos on burial of the deceased. First of all, it is taboo to use satin fabrics for the deceased’s clothing. Elderly people are accustomed to calling the clothes they wear after death "shrouds". After they reach the age of sixty, some elderly people start to prepare shrouds. The number and texture of shrouds are very particular. The number of pieces is usually odd numbers such as five, seven, or nine, rather than even numbers; the material is mostly silk, because "silk" and "chouzi" are homophonic, which means that future generations will have many children. Satin is taboo because "satin" is the same as "satin". "Duanzi" is homophonic. Secondly, it is taboo to use willow wood for coffins. According to legend, this is because willow trees do not bear seeds and they are worried that they will die.
2. The date of the funeral should not be chosen on the day of heavy mourning. Heavy mourning (pronounced CHONGSANG) means heavy, repetitive, and double. It means more than one funeral. It refers to the situation when someone in the family or relatives dies one after another within a hundred days or as far as a year or so after a person's death. . According to strict customs, the day of the funeral must be avoided on the day of heavy mourning to avoid the death of a loved one in the family again.
3. During the hot mourning period, it is taboo to visit relatives and friends, especially to attend happy events. Within 100 days after the death of an immediate family member, it is best to observe mourning at home. Unless necessary, do not travel, visit relatives and friends, etc., so as not to bring your own sadness to others. Especially happy events such as weddings, openings, and celebrations of the birth of a baby, it is best not to attend.
4. During the period of observing filial piety, children should not wear red or green. During the period of observing filial piety, children in ancient times paid attention to wearing linen and wearing mourning clothes. They wore white mourning clothes within a hundred days; after a hundred days, they wore black, blue and other dark clothes to observe mourning. It was taboo to wear red, green and heavy makeup. In modern society, although many friends do not wear mourning clothes for such a long time due to work and life reasons, and wear the word "filial piety" instead; however, it is still not allowed to wear red or green.
5. During the period of observing filial piety, children should not participate in entertainment activities. In ancient times, when a parent passed away, the children generally had to observe mourning for three years. During these three years of mourning, no marriage or auspicious celebrations could be held. In ancient times, "ruling the world with filial piety" was emphasized. No matter how big the official position was, officials had to take leave and return to their ancestral home to observe filial piety after the death of their parents, which was called "Ding You". If an official does not return to his hometown to observe filial piety, he may be impeached by the censor and punished. In serious cases, he may even never be hired. If an official engages in any behavior such as getting married, having children, dividing families, having fun, etc. during the period of Dingyou, it will be considered unfilial and will be impeached. In modern society, many people shorten the time of filial piety to one year or even less, but they are taboo on their children having fun.