What are the taboos in Tomb-Sweeping Day?
1. Worshipping the mountains in Qingming Festival here means sweeping graves. Many cemeteries in Jiangnan and the south are on the mountains, so they are called worshipping the mountains. In the north, it is commonly known as sweeping graves or going to graves. The meaning is the same, that is, an activity to sacrifice the dead. The poem Qingming by Du Mu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, said: "It rains in abundance during the Qingming Festival, and pedestrians on the road want to break their souls. Ask the local people where to buy wine and worry? The shepherd boy pointed to Xinghua Village. " Write the special atmosphere of Tomb-Sweeping Day. In China, ancestor worship is tied to filial piety. If you don't take part in ancestor worship, you are an unfilial person and a person who forgets your ancestors.
2. Tomb-sweeping on Qingming Festival, which means "respect for time" for ancestors, is the biggest day for ancestor worship and grave-sweeping in China. Therefore, most of the Han people and some ethnic minorities in China are visiting graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Some ethnic groups will hold similar activities on other days.
3. According to the custom, the order of sweeping is to sweep the grave first, that is, to clean the cemetery. Secondly, sacrifice, this procedure is very important, one is to mourn and the other is to feel with the ancestors, because the mountains have spirits without owners, and the ancestors have masters without spirits, and feeling with the ancestors can better get the aura of mountains and rivers. This is feng shui.
When sweeping graves, people bring offerings, money and other things to the cemetery, offer food to the graves of their ancestors, then burn the money, cultivate new soil for the graves, trim the graves and put some paper money on them, so that others can see it and know that there are descendants in the graves, and then kowtow and worship. That is: modify the cemetery-incense-offering-toasting-worship-shooting-offering.
4. This is not necessarily the case. Generally speaking, the activities of sweeping the graves on the mountain should be completed from 7: a.m. to 4: p.m., because the yang has gradually faded and the yin has gradually increased. People with low fortune will easily be haunted or harassed by the yin spirit.
5. Generally speaking, pregnant women should avoid tomb sweeping activities in Qingming Festival, and not only that. Strictly speaking, it is best for women not to take part in such activities when they come to their official holidays, especially after 3 pm to attend the Qingming grave sweeping activities.
6. The Qingming Festival should have been held in the cemetery in person, but for various reasons, many people can't go back to their hometown to attend the Qingming Mountain Worship, so they can also worship their ancestors at home. The method is to put offerings for worship on the balcony or living room at home, facing the hometown, burn three sticks of incense, bow three times and meditate on related words. Then, burn money.
7. It is usually chrysanthemum, because in ancient China, chrysanthemum was regarded as a flower of sustenance, which meant missing and nostalgia. White chrysanthemum is the most suitable, and it can also be matched with some green grass, such as lily, green leaves and carnations, which will be more beautiful. Yellow chrysanthemum is called longevity chrysanthemum, which is more suitable for visiting patients.
8. On the morning of sweeping the grave, before washing, look at your forehead in the mirror to see if there is a dark color. If there is, it means that your luck is low. It is advisable to avoid sweeping the grave as much as possible. If you must go, you can wear jade (ancient jade is better) with you as a solution.
9. It's best to fast before sweeping the grave: When you start sweeping the grave, you'd better not eat food or vegetarian food, and dress neatly to show courtesy and respect to your ancestors.
1. When sweeping the grave, in addition to placing incense sticks, flowers, fruits, money, wine and other things that ancestors liked to eat before their death (the number of sacrificial gifts is random), we should also light incense sticks and offer incense to the land of the mountain gods who are in charge of the cemetery, because the land of the mountain gods is the patron saint of the cemetery. After that, it is respectfully to kowtow to the ancestors and offer flowers, then burn the gold silk and drink a libation (that is, sprinkle the wine on the ground, which means toasting the ancestors), and then withdraw the offer and leave.
11. Because the cemetery is the home of the Yin spirits, you should not cross the graves and offerings, make loud noises, laugh and curse, use foul language, run around and touch, and urinate everywhere. Doing so not only disrespects your ancestors, but also causes nuisance to nearby spirits. You can't trample on other graves or criticize the design of graves, which will be regarded as blasphemy. If you encounter a bad atmosphere, you will get into trouble and go home.
12. In China, ancestor worship is not just to commemorate ancestors, but obviously means to worship and pray for the dead. Be careful to take photos in the graves of ancestors, whether it is the grave sweeper himself or the grave sweeper and the cemetery. It is even more taboo to take other graves into the lens when taking pictures. Otherwise, your fortune is likely to decline and be unbalanced in all aspects.
13. It's best not to visit relatives and friends in Tomb-Sweeping Day on the same day, but the next day, because Tomb-Sweeping Day is a special time to pay homage, so it's unreasonable or unlucky to visit relatives and friends at this time. Of course, you can also invite friends and relatives to eat out.
14. In the same way, marriage is an important event in life, so it is best to avoid choosing Tomb-Sweeping Day's marriage. Of course, there are still many things about the date of marriage.
15. The important activity in Tomb-Sweeping Day is to go hiking, and it is understandable to feel the beauty of nature when spring is blooming. However, it is especially important not to go to other people's sacrifices to sweep more mountains! Don't say unlucky words, let alone disrespectful words to the dead. Be careful in your activities at night. Therefore, it can't be said that Tomb-Sweeping Day was sorry for his ancestors when he took a vacation to travel.
16. Tomb-Sweeping Day pays attention to clothes and accessories. Don't wear red and purple clothes, you should wear plain clothes.
17. Tomb-Sweeping Day pays attention to the degree of offering sacrifices. Of course, we need to pay attention to it, and worship should be in order. In order: father, mother, eldest son, eldest daughter, second son, second daughter, and so on. After the worship, the sacrifice was blessed by the ancestors, and everyone could eat and take the sacrifice. Finally, of course, we should pay attention to fire safety and leave after the incense sticks are lit.
18. Can the wife visit the grave after her husband dies? There is a saying in the street that wives can't go to the grave three years before their husbands die. This is a matter of custom, as long as we respect the local customs. If there is such a custom in the local area, it is best to avoid it, otherwise it will bring many psychological troubles in the future. If there is no local custom, it has nothing to do with this taboo.
2. For various reasons, many people may encounter the problem of whether to accompany their friends to the grave, such as whether their girlfriends accompany their boyfriends to the grave, whether their subordinates accompany their bosses to the grave, or even whether they accompany their customers to the grave in business. It is best for outsiders not to accompany them to the grave, because their gas fields are different. If it can't be avoided, then you need to wear a mascot to ward off evil spirits, such as mahogany hand beads, or you will make a taboo.
21. Some people dream about their dead relatives or friends some time before Tomb-Sweeping Day almost every year, and even talk to him in their dreams. In fact, this has clearly told you that it is time to sweep their graves.
22. Some people happen to celebrate their birthdays in Tomb-Sweeping Day, so sometimes it is inevitable to buy a pair of shoes in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Don't you know that shoes are homophonic with evil, so you usually don't buy shoes at this time. If you really need it, you should stagger the time to buy it. You just need to pay attention to the shoe store why business in Tomb-Sweeping Day is not good.
23. If it happens that an old birthday girl is celebrating her birthday in Tomb-Sweeping Day, there will be more taboos. For example, don't accept flowers on the same day, and you can't eat birthday cakes on the same day. It is widely believed that such a birthday girl will live a peaceful and auspicious year and live a long life.
In addition to forbidding fire and sweeping graves, Tomb-Sweeping Day has a series of customs and sports activities, such as jogging, swinging, cuju, playing polo and inserting willows. According to legend, this is because cold food is forbidden in the Cold Food Festival. In order to prevent cold food and cold meals from hurting people, everyone comes to participate in some sports activities to exercise. In Tomb-Sweeping Day, people avoid needles and laundry, and women in most areas avoid walking. Before evening, a gray line should be sprinkled in front of the gate, which is said to prevent ghosts from entering the house. Therefore, this festival is a distinctive festival, with both sad and sour tears for sweeping the new grave of where will you go and laughter for an outing.