What are the customs in Tomb-Sweeping Day?

1. The traditional Tomb-Sweeping Day in China began in the Zhou Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,500 years.

2. There are 25 nationalities in China who have visited Tomb-Sweeping Day. Although the customs vary from place to place, the basic theme is to sweep graves and worship ancestors and hike. Influenced by the Han culture, 24 ethnic minorities in China, such as Manchu, Hezhe, Zhuang, Oroqen, Dong, Tujia, Miao, Yao, Li, Shui, Jing and Qiang, also have the customs of Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Qingming cold food

In terms of diet in Tomb-Sweeping Day, different places have different holiday foods. Because of the combination of the Cold Food Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day, some places still keep the habit of eating cold food in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Eat eggs and cold steamed bread in Shandong, eggs and cold sorghum rice in Laiyang, Zhaoyuan and Long Island. It is said that if not, there will be hail. Taian eats cold pancakes and rolls bitter vegetables. It is said that his eyes are bright. Jinzhong area still retains the habit of banning fire the day before Qingming.

Greater China

Hebei Province

Hebei pays attention to "Qingming in the early morning and 11th in the evening (Lunar Ghost Festival)". A week before Qingming Festival, people began to sweep graves and burn paper. Few people in Tomb-Sweeping Day went to sweep graves. Southern Hebei chose to sweep graves at the Cold Food Festival the day before in Tomb-Sweeping Day. All the men and women in the city go out for an outing, see flowers, pick vegetables and make willows. There is a proverb that says, "Qingming does not wear willow, and the beautiful face becomes bright eyes."

Shanghai

The main activities in Tomb-Sweeping Day are grave-sweeping and hiking, and the number of people traveling around Tomb-Sweeping Day every year is nearly 10 million. Due to the reform and opening up, cemeteries have flourished, and related sites are mainly distributed in Suzhou and Jiaxing in other provinces. Therefore, the number of people going to the above areas is more than one million, which often causes traffic congestion in the province for several days before and after Qingming.

Mix Bromus inermis juice with glutinous rice to make the green juice and rice flour blend with each other, then wrap it with stuffing such as bean paste and jujube paste, and put it in a steamer with reed leaves as the bottom. Steamed balls are green in color and fragrant, which is the most distinctive seasonal food in Tomb-Sweeping Day. There are also some people in Shanghai, Tomb-Sweeping Day, who love to eat peach blossom porridge and fish with knives when sweeping graves and having family dinners. For Shanghainese, the Youth League is an indispensable offering for Tomb-Sweeping Day to worship his ancestors.

Wenzhou

In Wenzhou, there is a custom of eating cotton vegetable cakes. As the name implies, cotton vegetable cake is a cake made of cotton vegetables, and some people call it Qingming cake.

Qingming pancake noodle dishes are translated according to Wenzhou dialect. It turns out that its scientific name is Qumou Grass, which was only available in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Making noodles and vegetable cakes is very particular. First of all, you should go to the field to pick noodles. Miancai is not planted; it will grow by itself every time you go to Tomb-Sweeping Day. Then, wash it, dry it, put it in an inverted mortar (inverted mortar is a tool made of stone, which they used to pound rice cakes before), and mash it. (Usually eight kilograms of white rice flour and two kilograms of glutinous rice flour) Add a proper amount of water, and you just need to evenly mix all the cotton vegetables into the rice flour. It is also an important process to prepare the stuffing after pouring. The most common thing here is to copy fresh bamboo shoots, tofu, pork and pickles (or shredded radish) and wrap them when the stuffing is cold. After wrapping the cotton vegetable cake, you must wrap it below. Because after putting grapefruit, this sponge cake will have the fragrance of grapefruit and taste much better. Just wrap it and steam it in a steamer for 25 minutes.

In many places, after the sacrificial ceremony is completed, food will be sacrificed. When people in southern Shanxi crossed Tomb-Sweeping Day, they used to steam big steamed buns with white flour, with walnuts, dates and beans in the middle, coiled into dragons outside, and an egg tied in the middle of the dragon's body, named "Zifu". It is necessary to steam a big "blessing" to symbolize the reunion and happiness of the family. When going to the grave, the "Zifu" is usually dedicated to the ancestors and shared by the whole family after sweeping the grave. According to the old custom in Shanghai, steamed cakes for sacrifice should be put on wicker and dried and stored. When they come in the long summer, they will be fried and given to the children. It is said that eating it in summer won't make you sick.

Huzhou

In Huzhou, Zhejiang, every family in Tomb-Sweeping Day makes zongzi, which can be used as a grave-sweeping sacrifice or as dry food for hiking. As the saying goes: "Qingming Zongzi is real." Before and after Qingming, snails were fat and strong. As the saying goes: "Qingming snail, a goose." Farmers have the habit of eating snails in Qingming. On this day, they use needles to pick out snail meat for cooking, which is called "picking green". After eating, throw the snail shell on the roof. It is said that the rolling acoustic energy emitted by roof tiles scares away mice, which is beneficial to sericulture after Qingming Festival. On this day in Tomb-Sweeping Day, there will be club wine. Have dinner with people from the same ancestral temple. People who don't have ancestral temples usually have dinner with the grandchildren of their great-grandfathers. The dishes of Shejiu are mainly fish, tofu and vegetables, as well as homemade sweet white wine. There is a saying in Heshan Town, Tongxiang City, Zhejiang Province that "Tomb-Sweeping Day is like the New Year". Tomb-Sweeping Day evening, emphasizing family reunion for dinner. There are several traditional dishes on the table: fried snail, glutinous rice with lotus root slices, bean sprouts, Malantou and so on. These dishes are all related to sericulture. Throwing the leftover snail shells into the house, it is said that the sound can scare away the mice, and the caterpillars will get into the shells to nest and stop harassing the silkworms. Eating lotus root is to wish silkworm babies long and good silk. Eating sprouted beans is a lottery to win "money". Eating fresh vegetables like Malantou means taking the word "green" to match the "green" of "Qingming".

Fujian Province

Fujian Minnan doesn't necessarily only visit graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day. There are generally two dates for sweeping graves. The custom in Quanzhou is a few days before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, while some people in Zhangzhou will choose to sweep graves near Shangsi Festival on the third day of March, and Hakkas generally sweep graves after the Spring Festival. The way is, after cleaning the grave environment (such as weeds and trees), worship the land god first, and then worship the ancestors. After the worship, press the "tomb paper" on the grave with a small stone, indicating that the grave has been repaired. Tomb-Sweeping Day usually didn't cook that day, but only ate cool cakes, which originated from the custom of Cold Food Festival.

Sichuan Province

Sacrificial ceremony of Water-splashing Festival in Dujiangyan, Sichuan, Tomb-Sweeping Day (Erwangmiao Temple Fair) for Li Bing and his son (Dujiangyan, Chengdu).

Shanxi [7]

Tomb-Sweeping Day goes to the grave, and most places in the south of Shanxi don't burn incense or paper, so there are things like money hanging in front of the grave. There was a saying that "the river on Qingming Festival is white". The reason is that the Cold Food Festival is used to banning fire, and Tomb-Sweeping Day is during the Cold Food Festival. Most places in northern Shanxi have to burn all the money and other things on the grounds that they will not be transferred to their ancestors unless they are burned. Datong and other places are used to going to the grave during the day and burning money at home at night. In Hequ and other places in northwest Shanxi, it is an old custom to bring wine and vegetables to the grave and then eat and drink in front of the grave, which means drinking and eating with ancestors. In Wenxi and other places in the south of Shanxi, jujube cakes are used to roll in front of the grave when going to the grave. Legend has it that it is to tickle the dead old man. In Jinzhong Jiexiu and other places, when going to the grave, the offering is a cake shaped like a snake. When you get home, put the bread in the yard and dry it before eating. The old people pay attention to treating diseases, the source of which is that cold food is forbidden to fire.

After going to the grave in southern Shanxi, you should pull out some wheat seedlings and insert pine branches, cypress leaves or wicker on the door to ward off evil spirits. There are many willow cuttings in the north of Shanxi. Elsewhere, some wicker was inserted in the grave.

People in southern Shanxi want steamed buns with walnuts, red dates and beans, which are called Zifu. With the blessings of sons and grandchildren, they all bring the blessings of their ancestors. Every family should make bean jelly, cut it into thin slices and eat it with soup. Shovel withered grass and rub it on the kang mat, which is called driving scorpions away. In the southeast of Shanxi, people have willow branches and dead leaves on their heads. Women should stick gold ornaments (headdresses) on their temples. In northern Shanxi, it is customary to have black bean sprouts, which are eaten with corn bread and black bean sprouts stuffing. Northwest Shanxi pays attention to making cakes with millet flour, commonly known as "spreading Huang Er", and Luliang area will receive a female husband the day after Tomb-Sweeping Day, commonly known as "fresh fire".

Shandong (province)

Zhaoyuan, Jimo, Linqu, Linqing and other places should add new soil to the grave when sweeping the grave in Qingming. It is said that this is to repair the house for ancestors to avoid leaking rain in summer. In Weihai, Qixia, Huangxian and other places, the whole people eat steamed bread and dishes after the ancestral graves, which is called "room food" or "water club". The custom of "cockfighting" in the Southern and Northern Dynasties has also been preserved in northern Shandong. On this day, children in Bin County support each other with boiled eggs. Whoever breaks the egg first loses. Qishan, Boshan and other places cook a pot of millet dry rice in Tomb-Sweeping Day to let the cows have a full meal, which is called "rice cow". There is a proverb: "If you scold thousands, a meal will be clear." .

Henan Province

Gongxian Qingming, son-in-law also offered sacrifices to the ancestral graves of Yue family. People offer sacrifices to young crops, ox king and Hongshan God. In Mengjin County, during the Qingming Festival, seedlings are being planted in the wheat field.

Shanxi province

Xingping county is clear that in-laws give each other paper money and worship each other's graves. Every household in Fuping County invited the famous mountain springs to source water in Tomb-Sweeping Day, and * * * gave gifts to a god. Preparing sacrifices and praying for a bumper harvest is called "swimming". After the Qingming Festival in Tongzhou County, willow branches are inserted into the door; And put paper money on the trunk, which is said to prevent insects and ants. Luochuan county steamed buns for food, and the buns were decorated in the shape of birds and snakes. It is said that meson was protected by birds and snakes when it was pushed to Mianshan, so it was kept as a souvenir.

Jiangsu Province

Taizhou farmers hold a boat race in Tomb-Sweeping Day, which is called "boat boat". Zhenjiang people use seven willow leaves to make tea, which is said to improve eyesight. The villagers near Lushan Mountain in Dantu County still retain the old customs of "looking at cotton" and "Mianshan".

Anhui province

Huizhou Prefecture makes wine in Qingming Taoxin Spring. In Guichi County, Tomb-Sweeping Day, women make cocoons to offer sacrifices to silkworms and pray for a good harvest. Jingxian County called Tomb-Sweeping Day the "Willow Festival". When the birthday is Qingming, it is called "wild ghost". Every family sticks a willow tree and hangs paper money on the grave tree.

Hunan

Changsha House is called "Memories of Time Past". Tomb-Sweeping Day, Yongzhou Prefecture, draws water in the early morning, and the taste remains unchanged for several months, which is especially suitable for brewing. Xintian county agricultural proverb: "Qingming, everything is done."

Sichuan Province

In Chongqing and Wanxian in the east of Sichuan, there was a custom of "going to the wild grave" in the old days. Before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, three or two women went to the suburbs for a picnic with wine and vegetables. Men, whether they know each other or not, can join in the fun. In Shifang and other places, women dip shepherd's purse flowers in oil and throw them into the water, depending on the pattern of the water surface, which is called "oil divination". In Chengdu, fried rice balls are sold, decorated with colors and connected with lines, which are called "happy balls".

Guangxi

Tomb-Sweeping Day, a villager in Hengzhou, soaked willow leaves and snails in water to wash his eyes, which is said to brighten his eyes. After sweeping the grave in Xingren County, long banners made of white paper are hung on the head of the tomb, which is called "standard grave" or "hanging green". When sweeping graves in Kaiyang County, the chief priests on duty prepare wine and food as sacrifices. After the sacrifice, relatives and friends will hold a banquet nearby, which is called a "picnic"

five continents—whole world

Most villagers in Wuzhou visited graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day on the same day and in the following days, and only a few villagers visited graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day a few days ago.

Jiangxi

Qingming Festival in Xinjian County, taking spring cakes as an example. Tomb-sweeping in Yongfeng County lasts three days, and then seven days. In addition to sacrificial ceremonies, rice flour is also used as fruit, called cocoon fruit, or glutinous rice is pressed into cakes and poured with sugar juice, called rice fruit, which still has the legacy of cold food. In Anyi County, Tomb-Sweeping Day is only held by men, and women do not participate.

Hong Kong

Tomb-Sweeping Day is an important festival in Hongkong. Hong Kong people will go to the graves of their ancestors to burn incense and light incense. Sacrifices are mostly fruits, flowers, roast pigs or boiled chickens. In order to avoid overcrowding, Hong Kong people often offer sacrifices to the mountains several weeks in advance, but they don't necessarily follow the tradition of sweeping graves to worship their ancestors in Tomb-Sweeping Day.

As early as the British Hong Kong period, even after the end of the civil war in China, the border between China and Hong Kong was heavily guarded, but the Sha Tau Kok restricted area on the border between China and Hong Kong was limited to open every Qingming Festival, and people would go to the Sha Ling cemetery to worship; From 1950 to 1970, China still hasn't implemented the policy of reform and opening up. Many people will go home in Tomb-Sweeping Day under the pretext of ancestor worship. Everyone wears multi-layered clothes and carries an unusually large number of daily necessities to help relatives and friends in the countryside. There will also be a rush to buy train tickets from Guangdong and Hong Kong, as well as speculation in scalper tickets.

In recent decades, when Hong Kong people were cleaning up weeds in front of their ancestors' graves, some people believed in the geomantic saying that "the earth shook and the mountains shook" and set fire to weeds, which led to many serious forest fires and attracted much attention from the society. In 2007, some organizations will launch the "Qingming no mountain fire pledging conference", calling on the public not to set fire to weed.

Taiwan Province Province, China

China is a vast country with different climates in the north and south, so Tomb-Sweeping Day varies from place to place, from the second day of February to the third day of March. Tomb-Sweeping Day, Taiwan Province Province, is the105th day from the winter solstice of the previous year, and Tomb-Sweeping Day, a native of Zhangzhou, Taiwan Province Province, is on the third day of the third lunar month. The customs in Tomb-Sweeping Day, Taiwan Province Province are similar to those in southern Fujian. The time for the Hakka people in Taiwan Province Province to worship their ancestors and sweep graves begins after the Lantern Festival, and the date is decided by each family until the Qingming Festival.

The custom of people sweeping graves in Taiwan Province Province can be roughly divided into two types: one is sweeping graves in general, with simple rituals and sacrifices, and most of them are just rice cakes, cakes and cakes; The second is to repair the ancestral graves, and the sacrifices are also quite grand. Sacrifice generally includes all kinds of sacrifices, twelve kinds of vegetables, cakes and so on. When sweeping the grave, you must stick "tomb paper" around the grave (cut into rectangles with five-color paper). There are small stones on every piece of paper, and a pile must be placed on the tombstone. This ceremony, commonly known as "hanging paper", is money for ancestors. If it is to repair the tomb, that is, to repair the ancestral grave, the whole family gathers in front of the grave to eat red eggs, and the eggshells are scattered on the cemetery, which contains the auspicious meaning of metabolism and endless life. While sweeping graves, we should also pay homage to the landlords (with small stone tablets) who have stood by for a long time guarding the cemetery and resting their ancestors. On the one hand, it is a kind of comfort, but also means gratitude. There is also a special custom in Taiwan Province Province. If there is a happy event at home this year, you should renovate the grave when you sweep it, put a small red light (oil lamp) in front of the grave and take it home when you go home. It is said that it can attract more happiness and auspiciousness.

In the rural areas of Taiwan Province Province, a group of children came to beg for money after each grave-sweeping. The more people come, the more developed the family will be in the future, and the owners will be willing to give money or money to those children.

Later, due to the decrease of cemeteries in Taiwan Province Province, an urn was implemented. Many people put the urn on the urn tower and go to the urn tower to worship whenever they go to Tomb-Sweeping Day, which also plays the role of ancestor worship. Due to the gradual change of people's concept, the ceremony of sweeping graves has also been omitted.

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia has a unique clan guild hall culture, and its formation is closely related to the tradition of ancestor worship of overseas Chinese Tomb-Sweeping Day. It is precisely to deal with the affairs of compatriots that Chinese who traveled in Southeast Asia in their early years raised funds to build the "Yishan" (free cemetery) and the temple of uncle (land god) to realize their desire to worship their ancestors, and gradually formed a clan guild hall culture that played an important role in rallying Chinese society in Southeast Asia.

However, in Singapore, where Chinese account for about 75% of the total population, due to the limited land resources, the government began to adopt measures to change customs in the 1960s, advocating Chinese burial instead of cremation, and building large urn homes in the suburbs, so the urban cemeteries gradually disappeared. Nowadays, in Singapore, it costs about S $ 1 s (about S $ 1.52) to buy a government-provided cemetery, which is not only expensive, but also has a service life of only S $ 15 years.

Chinese Singaporeans still follow traditional rituals to sweep graves, mostly Minnan rituals. During their stay in Tomb-Sweeping Day, Chinese Singaporeans often travel with their families, and their relatives and friends will invite them to join them. One or two pickup trucks were full of them to go to the grave, and most of them sacrificed to the land god first. Then put wine, fruit and flowers in front of relatives' graves, light incense sticks, press tomb paper, burn paper money, kowtow, and finally eat wine, meat and fruit on the spot and go home. Generally, five animals are prepared for ancestor worship, among which clams, crabs, chickens and ducks are essential. After the worship, the clams are peeled and eaten on the spot, and then thrown to the grave, indicating that future generations have come to visit the grave.

Returning to China to search for ancestors and worship ancestors is an upward trend of Chinese in Singapore in the past 20 years. Before Tomb-Sweeping Day, Chinese Singaporeans from Hainan often asked each other in their hometown dialect when they met: "Are you going back to your hometown (hometown) in Qingming?"

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