In ancient times, this custom was very popular. Due to different local customs and habits, the forms of ancestor worship are also different. Some go to the wild to sweep graves, and some go to the ancestral temple to worship their ancestors. Most of them put their ancestral tablets in the main hall in turn at home to show their worship, and then worshippers worship them in order of age. Han people worship their ancestors and make more fish tanks filled with high bowls, which means ringing bells.
Southerners live in Beijing, and ancestor worship is particularly grand. Most of them are eight bowls of big dishes with hot pot in the middle, and cups and chopsticks are placed according to their positions. New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Lantern Festival, hot pot fans, change dishes at any time. Manchu and Mongolian people sacrificed their ancestors. Mongolian flag bearer offered butter to stir-fry yellow wheat, fried it with sesame oil and dipped it in sugar when withdrawing the offering, which had a unique flavor. Manchu banner people offered walnut cakes, hibiscus cakes, apples and plain wax sandalwood to worship their ancestors, which was very quiet. On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, vegetarian cakes will be made, and on the last night, Lantern Festival will be held. Burn incense and kowtow every morning and evening and offer new tea. Although the forms of ancestor worship are different, most of them are hanging shadows on New Year's Eve, and the confession was withdrawn on the last night of the Yuan Dynasty. They are close to their relatives and friends. When they visit the New Year, they should also knock on the ancestral temple. They should not only pursue the future cautiously, but also preserve their virtue of respecting their ancestors.
The custom of ancestor worship during the Spring Festival in various places
Taiwan Province Province: From New Year's Eve to Spring Festival, at midnight, the first important thing is to offer sacrifices to the gods and ancestors. At that time, red candles were bright, offering sacrifices such as green tea and red beans. People were serious and sincere. After worshipping God, you should worship your ancestors. This is called "spring". Welcome the new, also known as "open". At the end of the ceremony, golden paper was burned for the ancestors.
Ningbo, Zhejiang: On the first day of the first month, in front of the ancestor's portrait, incense sticks, cakes and fruits are lit for Chen Tangtuan, and the family members bow down in turn. Others worship the statues of their ancestors in the ancestral hall, and their families go to the ancestral hall to worship their ancestors.
Dongguan, Guangdong: On the first day of the first month, most families first choose an auspicious time in the calendar to hold ancestor worship ceremonies. Sacrifices include tea, wine, rice, boxes, fruits, dragons (rice cakes), piles of Lu and vegetarian dishes. Ancestor worship procedures: burning incense, lighting candles, burning gold ingots and setting off a string of firecrackers. The whole family worships their ancestors in the order of seniority and age. Ancestor worship in upper-middle class families is always brightly lit and filled with cigarettes.
Kaifeng, Henan Province: On the fifth watch of the year, the people on guard first wash their hands, wear dresses and hats, set sacrifices on the altar, light incense sticks and set off fireworks. The whole family continues to bow down to their ancestors according to their generations and wish them a "Happy New Year".
Luotian, Hubei: On the morning of the first day of Xinzheng, I went to the ancestral temple to pay homage to my ancestors and pay a New Year call. The guards of the ancestral temple have already prepared sacrifices and firecrackers in front of the ancestral shrine. When the clansmen arrived, they lit and set off fireworks to welcome them. After the ancestor worship ceremony, people will treat them with fruit boxes, refreshments or a hearty breakfast.
Northeast China: At midnight of the first day, people of all ages put on new clothes, hats, socks and shoes to worship their ancestors. In front of the ancestral temple, people light candles, burn incense, burn paper and shoot guns, and their children and grandchildren bow down like instruments, which is called "paper inoculation".
Guangdong and Guangxi: At five or six o'clock in the morning of the first day, before the ancestral hall was filled with rich wine and food, the whole family put on new clothes and bowed down to their ancestors in the order of generations.
Yudong: After breakfast on the first day of New Year's Day, the whole family will worship their ancestors. According to their seniority, men first and women later, and kowtow to the ancestral temple.
Western Sichuan: In the incense burner in front of the ancestral throne, long incense filled with light smoke was lit, red candles lit brilliant light, and bronze bells rang one after another, filled with solemn atmosphere. When I was young, the elders led men, women and children, men left and women right, standing on both sides dressed neatly, burning incense, candles and paper for their ancestors, worshipping them, offering wine, providing meals and burning paper money.
In Taiwan Province Province, the seventh month of the lunar calendar is called "Ghost Moon", which is the month when ghosts and gods come to the world to be worshipped and enjoy sacrificial ceremonies. Every year, July 1 of the lunar calendar (this year refers to July 25th of the solar calendar) is the day of "opening the gate of hell", and the "Laodagong Temple" in Keelung will hold a sacrificial ceremony. On July 15 of the lunar calendar, ghosts return to the underworld. This day is called "Zhongyuan Festival", and almost every family has to worship.
The name "Central Plains" originated in the Northern Wei Dynasty, which was also called "Ghost Festival" or "Orchid Club". "Bonbon" comes from Sanskrit, which means that the pain of life is like a bat hanging upside down from a tree. In order to save all living beings from the suffering of hanging upside down, Buddhist disciples need to recite scriptures and give food to ghosts, which coincides with the worship of "Ghost Moon". Nowadays, the Mid-Autumn Festival, which combines Buddhist and Taoist beliefs, has become a grand festival in Taiwan Province Province after the Spring Festival.
On the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, supermarkets in Taiwan Province Province have been immersed in the atmosphere of "Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival", and fragrant paper and gold foil can be seen everywhere. On the Mid-Autumn Festival, every family prepares rich wine and meat to worship their ancestors. Traditional Purdue activities are held all over the country, among which the Mid-Autumn Festival of "Laodagong Temple" is the most distinctive. It is said that when the ghost gate was opened in July of the lunar calendar, all the ghosts came to the world from there, so one day at noon, 10,000 lanterns were lit in the temple to light the way for the ghosts, and a ceremony was held in the early morning of July of the lunar calendar. Believers rushed to burn incense and worship, and decorated the Ghost Festival magnificently.
The reason why people in Taiwan Province Province fear ghosts and gods is closely related to the immigration history of Taiwan Province Province. Hundreds of years ago, after people came to Taiwan Province Province from the mainland, life was very hard, and there was not much spiritual comfort except believing in ghosts and gods. So after the ancestors settled in Taiwan Province Province, they built temples first. At present, there are tens of thousands of temples in 309 towns and villages in Taiwan Province Province, so Taiwan Province Province is called "the island of ten thousand temples".
However, for hundreds of years, this reverence for ghosts and gods has gradually developed into a superstitious atmosphere all over the island. Especially in recent years, the superstitious phenomenon in Taiwan Province Province has shown an expanding trend. According to Yahoo's online poll (participants are mainly young people under 30), 86% people believe in ghosts and gods. Every year in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, patients are unwilling to have surgery and stay in hospital, so as not to be accompanied by ghosts, and no one wants to buy a house or move at this time.
The prevalence of social superstition in Taiwan Province Province has its historical reasons, but it is also related to the current social atmosphere in Taiwan Province Province. Nowadays, in Taiwan Province Province, superstitious behaviors such as geomantic omen are swarming from politicians to mainstream media? People will naturally be deeply affected. In addition, in recent years, the economic depression in Taiwan Province Province and the increasing competitive pressure have forced people to seek spiritual sustenance to relieve the pressure, which has led to the expansion of superstition and many social problems. In recent years, many patients get worse in order to avoid the "ghost moon" for medical treatment, and cases of using people's superstitions to cheat emerge one after another. Therefore, some people in Taiwan Province Province have begun to reflect on superstitious thoughts in society. During the Ghost Month this year, the wedding industry in Taichung City launched a 50% discount to encourage people to get rid of the superstitious custom of avoiding marriage on the Ghost Month. ▲