Please be sure to refer to my blog post about the matters needing attention during the outing during the Qingming period to avoid unnecessary trouble caused by mistakes. Tomb-Sweeping Day, called March Festival in ancient times, is one of the important traditional folk festivals in China. In 2006, it was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage. In 2008, it was officially established as a legal holiday. Tomb-Sweeping Day started in the Zhou Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,500 years. Tomb-Sweeping Day is the most important festival to sacrifice ancestors and sweep graves, and it is also an annual festival for China people to pay tribute and thank their ancestors! But during the Qingming period, there are some taboos and taboos to be avoided. Now, let's talk about Tomb-Sweeping Day's offering sacrifices to mountains. 1. Why is Tomb-Sweeping Day important? Qingming is an activity of offering sacrifices to the dead. Tomb-Sweeping Day is very important. The poem Qingming written by Du Mu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, said: "There are many rains during the Qingming period, and pedestrians on the road want to break their souls. Ask local people where to buy wine? The shepherd boy pointed to Xinghua Village. " Write about the special atmosphere in Tomb-Sweeping Day. In China, ancestor worship is associated with filial piety. If you don't participate in ancestor worship, you are unfilial and forget your ancestors. Qingming Festival refers to sweeping graves. Many cemeteries in Jiangnan and Jiangnan are on mountains, so they are called Chongshan. In the north, it is commonly known as sweeping graves or going to graves. 2. Are there ethnic differences in grave-sweeping in Tomb-Sweeping Day? Tomb-sweeping in Qingming Festival, which is called "respecting time" for ancestors, is the biggest day to pay homage to ancestors in China. Therefore, most Han people and some ethnic minorities in China visit graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Some ethnic groups will hold similar activities on other days. 3. How to follow the custom in the usual procedure of offering sacrifices to mountains in Tomb-Sweeping Day? 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 the same way with the ancestors, because the mountain has a spirit without a master, and the ancestors have a master without a spirit. Only by feeling the same way with the ancestors can we better obtain the aura of mountains and rivers. This is feng shui. When sweeping graves, people come to the cemetery with food, wine, fruit, paper money and other items, offer food to the graves of their loved ones, then burn paper money, cultivate new soil for the graves, repair the graves, fold some fresh green branches and put some paper money on them to show that there are descendants in the graves, and then kowtow. Then sit around and eat and drink; You can also fly kites and even compete with each other for related activities. Women and children will also fold some Yang Liuzhi nearby and put on steamed food with wicker. Others put wicker into reeds and put them on their heads, saying, "If you don't wear willow in Qingming Festival, you will become a yellow dog in the afterlife." Namely: modifying the cemetery-burning incense-eating meat-toasting-offering sacrifices-shooting farewell. Tomb-Sweeping Day worships the mountain as soon as possible? No, it needs to be at 5-7 o'clock according to your own situation, which is Shi Mao. In the ancient calendar, it was one. Of course, it's generally not so early now, but it's best to sweep the Qingming Mountain before 3 pm, because the yang has gradually subsided and the yin has gradually increased. If people are unlucky, they are easily troubled by ghosts. 5. Can pregnant women in Tomb-Sweeping Day go to worship the mountain? Generally speaking, pregnant women should avoid the Qingming Festival, not only that. Strictly speaking, it's best for women not to take part in such activities when they have their period, especially after 3 pm. 6. Can Tomb-Sweeping Day worship his ancestors at home? Tomb-Sweeping Day 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 Festival, so they can also worship their ancestors at home. The method is to put worship food on the balcony or living room at home, face the hometown, light three sticks of incense, bow three times and meditate on related words. Then, burn paper money for sacrifice. 7. What flowers does Tomb-Sweeping Day use to mourn the dead? It is usually chrysanthemum, because in ancient China, chrysanthemum was regarded as a flower of sustenance, which meant missing and missing. 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. Chrysanthemum is called longevity chrysanthemum, which is more suitable for visiting patients. 8. Why does Tomb-Sweeping Day look at his forehead in the morning? On the morning of sweeping the grave, before washing, look at your forehead in the mirror to see if there is any dark color. If there is, it means that his fortune is low. It is recommended to avoid sweeping graves as much as possible. If you must go, you can wear jade, mahogany and so on. Work it out with you. 9. Do you need to fast before sweeping the grave? It is best to fast before sweeping the grave: when you start sweeping the grave, it is best not to eat food or vegetarian food, and to dress neatly to show courtesy and respect to your ancestors. This one is very important, but for some friends, it may be wronged. 10. Why do you need to give incense to the land of mountain gods when sweeping graves? In addition to placing incense sticks, flowers, fruits, paper money, wine and other things that ancestors loved to eat before their death (the number of sacrificial gifts is random), we should also light incense sticks and burn incense to the land of mountain gods in charge of the cemetery, because the land of mountain gods is the patron saint of the cemetery. After that, you kowtow respectfully to your ancestors and offer flowers, then burn cymbals and drink a libation (that is, sprinkle wine on the ground to represent a toast to your ancestors). After the ceremony, you can eat and drink, and then you can go after lighting the incense. 165438+ 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. Why should we be careful when taking photos in the graves of our ancestors? In China, ancestor worship is not only to commemorate our ancestors, but obviously means to worship and pray for the dead. Be careful when taking photos in ancestral graves, whether it is the grave sweeper himself or the grave sweeper and cemetery. When taking pictures, it is even more taboo to take other people's graves into the camera. Otherwise, your fortune is likely to decline and be unbalanced in all aspects. 13. What happened in Tomb-Sweeping Day? "Burning a bundle" is a form of paying homage to ancestors. The so-called "baggage", also known as "parcel", refers to filial piety's mail sent from Shi Yang to the underworld.