Tomb Sweeping Day is a tradition since ancient times. Many people will ask, is it suitable to sweep tombs the day before Tomb Sweeping Day? Generally speaking, the day before Tomb Sweeping Day is cold food festival, so it is not recommended to sweep tombs. There are also many taboos to understand when sweeping tombs.
Can you sweep the tomb the day before Qingming Festival?
The day before Qingming Festival, some people call it cold food festival. It's better not to go to the grave on this day.
Tomb Sweeping Day is a good way to show filial piety. I seldom go to the graves of my ancestors at ordinary times. It's really a good thing to take a look on Tomb Sweeping Day and add some soil to the graves to make up for loopholes or collapses.
But don't move when you go to the grave on the Qingming Festival. You can't throw away the stones that look irregular and turn them into beautiful and neat ones. The general principle is not to move, only to increase but not to decrease. That is, don't move the ancestral tombs easily. Only increase the soil and stones, and don't reduce them. The unsightly and irregular stones can be wrapped with another layer.
Why can't we sweep tombs the day before Qingming Festival?
The day before Qingming Festival, some people call it 'Han's Festival'. It is said that in the past, an emperor mistakenly killed his generals Han Shizhong and Liang Hongyu. Feeling deeply guilty, he asked a famous Taoist priest to do so, so that all the things offered to his ancestors by people who went to the grave on the day before Qingming Festival would be transferred to Han's name. So going to the grave the day before Qingming Festival is not for your ancestors to receive what you offer. Therefore, the day before Tomb Sweeping Day is not suitable for tomb sweeping.
For tomb sweeping time, as long as it is during the Qingming Festival, it is convenient to see yourself. Of course, there are some local customs everywhere, and we should respect them. In addition, for some customs, there are some differences in the time of visiting the graves of relatives who have died within one year and those who have died more than one year. Remind friends to follow the local customs.
What are the taboos of Tomb Sweeping on Tomb Sweeping Day? Low black air transport
On the morning of the day of tomb sweeping, when you wash your face and clear your face, if you look in the mirror and find that your forehead is black, it means that your fortune is in the doldrums. Try to avoid tomb sweeping. If you must go, you can carry protective items (such as amulets) to resolve the problem.
No meat in food
When you get up in the morning and arrive at the site of tomb sweeping, you should eat vegetarian food as much as possible, dress neatly and strictly, so as to show courtesy and respect to the ancestors.
Caution!
When burning paper money and placing offerings, we should pay attention to fire prevention and ensure safety. We should try our best to carry the items by ourselves and avoid buying hawkers selling utensils near sacrificial sites. If you have to buy it because it's inconvenient to carry, you should prepare a small amount of cash in advance, put a small amount of cash in the convenient coat pocket, and put a large amount of cash in the inner side to avoid being picked up by thieves.
Choose a day to worship and sweep
Try to avoid weekends or other rush hours for tomb sweeping. Because of the increase of private cars and rush hours for tomb sweeping, traffic congestion will bring trouble to travel. You can choose to take all kinds of public transport, or lengthen the time for tomb sweeping (leaving early and returning late) or stagger the key periods, so as to relieve the pressure of road traffic caused by more people and cars.
Inventory at any time
Whether you arrive at the place of sacrifice or leave, you should form a good habit of counting your belongings, so as to avoid the accidental loss of valuables. Collective sacrifice should count the number of people at any time, especially the parents with children should take good care of their children, so as to avoid the loss of children due to play.
Avoid remote places
Don't go to places that are too remote and sparsely populated. It's better to form a plan according to the usual route. Don't stay in remote places for a long time to ensure your own safety.
Don't disturb him
The cemetery is a place where the spirits live in peace. Don't laugh, scold, slander, run and fight, and urinate everywhere. When you meet other graves, don't trample on the tombstone with your feet. Don't disturb other tombstone sacrificial objects. No doubt, when you encounter them, you should sincerely recite 'sorry to disturb'. The cemetery should be respectful and respectful, and control your mood and attitude, so as not to disturb and offend other spirits.
Sacrifice time
The best time to sweep tombs is between 10 am and 3 pm.
Clearing the cemetery
In the face of the ancestors' graveyard, we need to clean up the weeds, add loose soil, and tidy the surrounding environment, so as to make the appearance of the graveyard full and clean. At the same time, we should pray silently in our heart, place our hope under the spring, and pray for the ancestors to keep the future generations rich and prosperous.
Don't sweep graves for pregnant women
Generally speaking, pregnant women should avoid tomb sweeping activities, not only that. Strictly speaking, it's better for women not to participate in such activities when they come to their regular holidays, especially after 3 p.m.