When sweeping graves, the sacrifices prepared for ancestors are generally odd, three or five; The number of each sample is also odd, three or five. Tributes should respect religious, ethnic and regional customs, and there are no fixed rules. Please refer to the following:
1, don't use any meat or other animal products.
2. It is best to sacrifice vegetarian food, fruits, snacks, dried fruits, vegetarian wine and other foods.
3, you can use the food that your ancestors liked when they were alive.
In fact, ancestors can't eat sacrifices, but they should be selective. This is a respect for their ancestors. As long as they have a sincere filial piety, even if they use a relatively simple tribute, they are still very satisfied. Secondly, prepare flowers (pay attention to environmental protection now) instead of burning paper.
In ancient times, there were many regulations to pay homage to the dead, which are still continuing today: you can't wear red clothes during Dai Xiao, and you can't post red couplets during the Spring Festival for three years. The rest of the rules have changed: for example, if you get married, the deceased can get married in a hundred days. Dai Xiao, filial piety cloth can be removed after burial. Hairdressing, bathing, etc. Can be performed after seven burns.
The core of the traditional custom of paying homage to the dead is to educate future generations through silent teaching; Respect, love and respect the elderly; Good social atmosphere. As long as it can be internalized in the heart and externalized in the line, it meets the core requirements of traditional customs.
Second, what sacrifices did Tomb-Sweeping Day use to go to the grave?
Tomb-Sweeping Day cooks soup rice at home, commonly known as Qingming soup rice, to worship ancestors and keep safe. At that time, the offerings made by every household for soup rice were: bean sprouts fried with tofu, vegetable soup, braised yellow croaker, braised pork and goose. In addition, a green ball is essential in the sacrifice, because it is a symbol of Qingming. Green ball is a stuffing made by mashing Artemisia argyi leaves, taking juice, kneading with glutinous rice flour, and embedding cowpea paste or white sugar sesame or soybean powder.
When the incense and candles on the sacrificial table are almost burned out, burn some silver ingots made of tin foil to see our ancestors off. In the past, people usually went to the countryside near the cemetery by boat or on foot, and then walked to the cemetery. However, some families with cymbals will hire a sedan chair to go to the grave, so there is a proverb that they go to the grave in March to sit in a sedan chair.
Mr. Pang Shuhua, a modern master, said; Times have changed. During the period of contemporary Tomb-Sweeping Day, whether cooking soup or going to the grave is an expression of missing ancestors and deceased relatives, and it is also a traditional folk custom. Bring a few meals you like. Generally, you can pay attention to three kinds and bring them back to eat after the incense is burned.
Third, Tomb-Sweeping Day's top ten taboos for sweeping graves
1, low black gas: in the morning of sweeping graves and washing your face, if you look in the mirror and find black gas on your forehead, it means that your fortune is low. Try to avoid sweeping graves. If you must go, you can bring protective items (such as amulets) to resolve it.
2. Fast food without meat: Tomb-Sweeping Day gets up in the morning and arrives at the grave-sweeping site. Try to be vegetarian and dress neatly and strictly to show courtesy and respect to your ancestors.
3. Pay attention to safety: when burning paper money and placing offerings, you should pay attention to fire prevention to ensure safety, and try to carry your own articles, avoiding buying utensils sold by vendors near the sacrifice site. If you have to buy it because it is inconvenient to carry, you should prepare the change in advance, put a small amount of cash in the jacket pocket that is convenient to take out, and put a large amount of cash in it to avoid being pickpocketed by thieves.
4. Choose the day of sweeping: try to avoid weekends or other peak hours of sweeping. Because there are more private cars sweeping during peak hours, it will bring trouble to travel because of traffic congestion. You can choose to take all kinds of public transport, or lengthen the time of sweeping (leaving early and returning late) or stagger the key time periods to ease the pressure on road traffic caused by more people and more cars.
5. Inventory at any time: whether you arrive at the sacrifice site or leave, you should develop the good habit of counting your belongings to avoid unintentional loss of valuables. Collective sacrifices should be counted at any time, especially parents with children should take good care of their children to prevent them from getting lost because of play.
6. Avoid remote places: Don't go to places that are too remote and inaccessible. It is best to form a plan according to the usual route, and don't stay in remote places for a long time to ensure your own safety.
7. Don't disturb other souls: the cemetery is a place where ghosts coexist peacefully. Don't laugh and curse, don't swear, don't run around and fight, don't pee anywhere. In other graves in Lu Yu, don't trample on tombstones with your feet, and don't touch the sacrificial objects of other tombstones. There is no doubt that you will meet them. You should sincerely apologize for disturbing them. The scope of the cemetery should be flattering and restrained, so as not to disturb and offend other ghosts.
8. Sacrifice time: When the sun is shining, it is not conducive to sweeping graves before dawn or in the evening. You should try to avoid sweeping graves. Generally, the best time to sweep graves is from 10 am to 3 pm.
9. Clean up the cemetery: in the face of ancestral graves, we should clean up weeds, increase loosening soil, clean up the surrounding environment, and make the cemetery look full and tidy. At the same time, we should pray silently in our hearts, pin our hopes on Jiuquan, and pray for ancestors to maintain the prosperity of future generations.
10, Avoid grave sweeping by pregnant women: Generally speaking, pregnant women should avoid grave sweeping activities on Qingming Day, and not only that. Strictly speaking, it is best for women not to take part in such activities when they come to their official holidays, especially after 3 pm to attend the Qingming grave sweeping activities.