In a few days, there will be the Qingming Festival. The Qingming Festival in 2019 is April 5, the first day of March in the lunar calendar. Tomb Sweeping Day is one of the most important traditional festivals in China. The most important custom on Tomb Sweeping Day is to sweep tombs, go to graves and pay homage to ancestors. As for the custom of going to the grave on the Qingming Festival, there are many concerns about going to the grave in our tradition. Can we go to the grave on the Qingming Festival? When is Tomb Sweeping Day? The editor of this article will tell you about the time of Tomb Sweeping Day.
Can I go to the grave on Qingming Day: Yes
Yes, but it should be earlier. Usually it should be from 7:00 a.m. to 17:00 p.m.
There is another saying about going to the grave the day before Qingming Festival. This day is called 'Han's Day'. It is said that in the past, an emperor mistakenly killed his generals Han Shizhong and Liang Hongyu. Feeling deeply guilty, he invited famous Taoists to do so, so that all the things that people in the country offered to their ancestors on the day before Qingming Festival could be transferred to Han's name. So go to the grave the day before Qingming. For your ancestors, he can't receive what you offer.
Tomb Sweeping Day is a good form of honoring ancestors and reflecting filial piety. Usually, I seldom go to my ancestors' graves. It's really a good thing to take a look at the Tomb Sweeping Day and add some soil on the graves to make up for loopholes or collapses.
But don't move at Tomb Sweeping Day. You can't throw away those stones that look untidy and stagger and replace them with beautiful and neat stones. The general principle is' don't move, just add and don't reduce '. That is, don't move the ancestral tombs easily. The soil and stones only increase, not decrease. Unsightly and untidy stones can be covered with another layer.
During the Qingming Festival, citizens who need to go to the grave should go to the cemetery in advance to worship.
Tomb time on Tomb Sweeping Day: 7:00 a.m. - 17:00 p.m
From the perspective of geomancy, we should choose a good time to sweep the tomb. It is best to choose the time when the Yang is relatively strong. Generally speaking, it is best to sweep the tomb from 7:00 a.m. to 17:00 p.m. before dawn and sunset. If you are in low spirits on the day of tomb sweeping, you can wear jade. It is said that wearing jade can stabilize your spirit. When sweeping the tomb, you should dress neatly and look solemn. Don't speak rough words, make loud noise, and don't say disrespectful words to the dead. When visiting tombs, pay attention, don't look around, don't look at other people's tombs, trample on other people's tombs, or judge other people's tombs. It's also inappropriate to take photos in cemeteries. Pregnant women, patients and children under the age of 7 had better not go to the grave.
What's the saying of tomb time on Tomb Sweeping Day: 'the first three and the last four'
On April 4, 5 or 6 every year, the whole solar term lasts for seven days, which is said to be the first three and the last four. That is, three days before Qingming and four days after Qingming are the time for ancestor worship.
Tomb Sweeping during the Qingming Festival is an important custom for ancestor worship. The time for tomb sweeping is three days before and four days after the Qingming Festival. The masses call it "the first three days and the second four days". In addition, it is also customary for some people to visit their ancestral graves on the eighth day of the first month of the lunar calendar.
When sweeping the tomb, there must be a tent snack, also known as Qingming Festival. There are sacrifices in front of the tomb, such as tea, wine, rice and rich dishes. Light incense candles and light another Buddhist incense next to the tomb, which is to sacrifice the land of mountain gods. Then pray to the ancestors for their protection, so as to make the children and grandchildren safe, peaceful and smooth. After praying, place paper horses (burning paper) everywhere on the grave and press them with earth blocks, commonly known as' floating grave '.
After floating the grave, cut down the vegetation on the grave with a machete, dig grass cakes and place them on the head of the grave. Sprinkle tea and wine in front of the grave to reflect on filial piety. Burn paper ingots, paper horses, money and paper money in front of the grave and at the place where the earth God inserts incense, and distribute snacks to the visiting shepherd children and others.