Custom of sweeping graves in Chaoshan

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, I respectfully bowed to my ancestors and offered incense and flowers.

Qingming is an activity of offering sacrifices to the dead. Tomb-Sweeping Day is very important. In the eyes of China people or China people, ancestor worship is closely related to filial piety. If you don't participate in ancestor worship, you are unfilial and forget your ancestors. Sweeping graves in Chaoshan is also called "hanging paper" and "pressing paper", which means that ancestors built houses. 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 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. Namely: modifying the cemetery, incense, meat, toast, sacrifice and shooting. The specific date of Tomb-Sweeping Day's sacrifice varies from place to place, some after the first ten days of Tomb-Sweeping Day; Some people call it "the first three and the last three"; Some are held in the "Singles Day" around Tomb-Sweeping Day; In some places, grave-sweeping activities last for a month.