When is the best time to sweep graves on the winter solstice?
In Chaoshan area of Guangdong, on the solstice of winter, three kinds of sacrifices and fruits should be prepared to go to the ancestral temple to worship ancestors. After that, the family will eat around the table. Worship is usually finished before noon, and the family will get together for lunch.
However, in the coastal area of Raoping Seamount, fishermen will come to worship their ancestors in the early morning before going out to sea to fish, in order to pray for the gods and ancestors to bless the fishermen to return safely from sea. In Hui 'an, Guangdong Province, in addition to ancestor worship, there are some customs similar to those in Tomb-Sweeping Day, such as going to the mountain to pay money within ten days before and after the winter, and there is no taboo to repair and move the grave.
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Other customs of winter solstice in different regions:
Cantonese people eat barbecue and ginger rice on the solstice in winter. On this day, most Cantonese people have the custom of "adding vegetables" to eat meat on the solstice in winter. In Chaoshan area, there is a folk saying that "Winter Festival Pills, once eaten, celebrate the New Year", commonly known as "Adding New Year". Hakkas believe that the taste of water is the most mellow in winter solstice, so it has become a custom for Hakkas to make wine in winter solstice.
People in Hangzhou eat rice cakes on the solstice in winter. From the late Ming and early Qing dynasties to the present, people in Hangzhou like to eat rice cakes on the solstice in winter. In winter solstice, you can cook rice cakes with different flavors, eat rice cakes in winter solstice and get old, which is auspicious. In Sichuan, it is the solstice to eat mutton soup in winter, and mutton is the first tonic in winter. In the area around the two lakes, red beans and glutinous rice must be eaten on the solstice in winter.