Qingming Festival is generally a memorial service for ancestors. Of course, it is not necessary to bring some sacrifices, which is also the respect for ancestors. So what sacrifices should be prepared in advance for tomb sweeping in Qingming Festival? You may as well follow Xiaobian to have a look.
What sacrifices are needed for tomb sweeping and ancestor worship in Qingming Festival
1, incense candles
Incense candles are the most important and necessary items in tomb sweeping. It is not only necessary to light incense candles at present, but also to offer incense to the mountain god land that looks after the cemetery, and pray for the mountain god land to protect the cemetery and protect the dead of the ancestors.
2, paper money
Paper money is to be burned to the dead, so that they can spend money in the underworld. It must be burned clean.
3, plain wine
In the process of tomb sweeping, it means taking food to celebrate the festival for ancestors, so we should drink wine to ancestors, which is necessary for tomb sweeping.
4, fruit
Snack fruit is suitable for local seasonal fruits without any special requirements; snack can be determined according to the specific situation.
5, food
It's better to eat what you like before you live. Many people will tell their children about the deeds before you live, and let the next generation not forget their ancestors.
6, flowers
Chrysanthemum has the meaning of missing and remembrance. Chrysanthemum is suitable for tomb in Qingming Dynasty, especially for scenery.
7, 'burden'
"Baggage" refers to the food and clothing that the grave sweeper (family members of the deceased) brings to the deceased. It is named after a large bag of white paper, which contains the money of the dead, gold and silver, as well as various paper made "Yuan Bao", "clothes", "furniture", etc. "Burning the burden" is an important form of sacrificing the dead. Burning the "burden" is to give these items to the ancestors.
What is the significance of Qingming Festival
As an important part of Qingming Festival, the customs of sacrifice and outing mainly come from cold food festival and Shangsi Festival. Cold food festival is related to the ancients' understanding of nature. In China, the rebirth of new fire after cold food is a transitional ceremony of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, which reveals the information of season alternation, symbolizing the beginning of new season, new hope, new life and new cycle. Later, it had the meaning of "gratitude" and emphasized the memory and gratitude of "the past".
Cold food, no fire, cold food, sacrifice to the tomb. During the Qingming Dynasty, take a new fire and go outing. Before the Tang Dynasty, cold food and Qingming were two successive festivals with different themes. The former was nostalgic and mournful, while the latter was seeking new things to protect their lives; the two had a close relationship. The purpose of fire prohibition is to produce fire, and the purpose of sacrifice is to protect life. This is the internal cultural connection between cold food and Qingming. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the imperial court fixed the custom of folk tomb sweeping in the form of decrees in the cold food festival before the Qingming Festival. Because the cold food is closely related to the Qingming Festival in time, the cold food festival custom has long been related to the Qingming Dynasty, and the tomb sweeping has also been extended from cold food to the Qingming Dynasty.