The tomb-sweeping in our place is not called tomb-sweeping, but "hiking". Men, women, old and young can participate regardless of age. Tomb sweeping is not exclusively during the Qingming Festival, but one or two months before the Qingming Festival. The whole family brings meat pastries and paper money, often big goose and big meat, and roasted pig. Roasted pig is a symbol of wealth, and many wealthy families will carry large roasted pigs up the mountain. The whole family carried the poles and carried things on the poles, and set off happily, just like a spring outing, without any seriousness or sadness.
Grave-sweeping is a festival that children look forward to every year, and during this time of year, children can visit other families in the village who are sweeping tombs, mostly out of greed, because the food is plentiful. It’s like celebrating the New Year. Maybe people there think that our ancestors would like to see their descendants living a happy life and having plenty of food and clothing? Of course, there is also a serious side, that is, adults have to say blessings when worshiping, but children cannot climb on the tomb to show respect. But to be honest, I really like this custom.
Should you take your children to visit graves during Qingming Festival? How old do children have to be to sweep graves? In fact, there is really no unified standard. From a psychological point of view, as long as parents do not intimidate or mislead their children, there really is no adverse impact. The weird customs in my hometown are enough to prove everything. In some places, children under the age of 6 are not allowed to participate in ancestor worship; in some places, the age is lowered to 2 years old; in some places, girls are not allowed to participate; in some places, daughters-in-law from out of town are not allowed to participate; and in some places, pregnant women are not allowed to participate ; There are even some places where family members who have birthdays before and after grave sweeping are not allowed to attend; and what about some places? It doesn’t matter, men, women, old and young are all welcome. There are not so many taboos abroad, and everyone can visit the graves of their ancestors.
But for Chinese families, the advice for young children is to respect local customs and listen to the older generation. Why? This is not superstitious or not, but from a psychological point of view, the hints of customs after "fouls" often cause psychological pressure, and most people feel a little confused.