The ancestral temple is a legal place to practice clan ethics. Worship ancestors' birthdays and anniversaries is a powerful routine way to unite clans.
There are two kinds of ancestor worship: family sacrifice and family sacrifice. Clan sacrifice is to sacrifice ancestors, and it is very grand to sacrifice or sweep graves twice a year in spring and autumn. Many clans in Chaoshan have established public steaming industry, which is mainly used for sacrifice and study, and most of them are used for sacrifice. Most of the family sacrifices held in ancestral temples are held at the vernal equinox or the winter festival, and most of them are in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Ethnic festivals are usually performed by theatrical troupes or shadow puppetry classes. On the day of the sacrifice, the eldest brother of the whole clan or the adult descendants of the whole clan, or representatives of all ethnic groups, dressed neatly, gathered in the ancestral temple to worship. Family sacrifices are rich in gifts, including whole pigs and whole sheep, five sacrifices and three cakes, and a variety of sweets and cakes. In addition to the public sacrifices to the distant ancestors, the ancestors of the descendants of each family who share a niche also have sacrifices on both sides, both for the distant ancestors and for the near ancestors. Formal ceremonies are mostly held in the early hours of the morning. In fact, the sacrificial activities last from midnight to evening. First, a sacrificial ceremony is held after dark, that is, a pig and a sheep are slaughtered, a few drops of blood from the pig's ear are put in a glass, and then a few pieces of wool are mixed and buried in the courtyard wall of the ancestral temple, which is called blood sacrifice, so as to tell ancestors that this kind of sacrifice is a "clean sacrifice" to show piety. Besides, it should be set in the patio.
Incense table, sacrifice to heaven and earth. After nightfall, the ancestral hall was brightly lit, and all the offerings for the altar were displayed neatly. The troupe and paper shadow in front of the ancestral temple have been performed, and a program (commonly known as "Early forties", now called "Five Blessingg Company") has been paying homage to the ancestors of the victims. At the beginning of the ceremony, firecrackers exploded, ground guns (commonly known as big spears) rang three times, suona was played high, gongs and drums were loud, and deacons such as Tong, Yin, Zong Zi were in place. Children are masters of ceremonies; Leadership is leadership sacrifice; Zongzi is the main sacrifice; Ritual students are those who read eulogies. The master of ceremonies sings the ceremony, and the participants are arranged in place according to the order of generation. The leader of the sacrifice first led the priest to "wash the first clean towel" (wash his face and hands) and burn incense in situ. First make a recommendation, the priest offers a drink, holds a cup in both hands, presses the word "heart", first at three o'clock, and then at the second half of the arc, first offering sacrifices to heaven, earth and ancestors to show sincerity. After that, the priest bowed three times, and then the participants knelt down together to listen to the eulogy and obituary of the ceremony students. Eulogy is a text describing the name, time, object, reason, content and piety of the priest who sacrificed; An obituary is a text that represents an ancestor and instructs his descendants.
After the ceremony, after dawn, there will be meat and lunch (commonly known as eating ancestral tables). Meat is graded according to reputation, education, status, seniority and age. During the period of the Republic of China, the number of celebrities such as Jinshi, Juren and Scholar decreased gradually, and they were often distributed according to university, high school, junior high school, primary school graduation and military and political ranks. The rest of the fame figures are also distributed according to age and generation, and some households share them equally, commonly known as "food lamp (Ding)". Some big clansmen have built large-scale or joint ancestral temples in cities. For example, in the 1920s and 1930s, a large ancestral temple was built in Shantou with many surnames. This kind of large-scale words, such as ancestor worship, are even larger. Large troupes perform on stage, and many dignitaries come to "worship ancestors", and the military and police cheer on them, which became a strange social phenomenon in that year.
Family sacrifices are generally small in scale. Because they are close relatives and ancestors, there are not many descendants. Those who have ancestral temples do not hold big sacrifices, but worship on birthdays and anniversaries. This is called offering sacrifices to heaven. When the family sacrifices, men and women can come to worship without wearing uniforms. People from poor families and single-family houses still bow down with dim lights and dark candles. This is what the old chronicles said: "Sacrifice to the full, measure its strength, and do not lift it without waste."
Ancestor worship is a temporary sacrifice. Although there are also differences in size, all pigs and whole sheep are indispensable. Because this kind of temporary ancestor worship is mostly a great event to repay the ancestors and feel their kindness. Most of the ancestors who got married and married were small; Most of the ancestors who were promoted to the department were big. During the Republic of China after the abolition of the imperial examination, some places compared the graduates of higher primary schools to "scholars". For the sake of fame and practical interests, many people were willing to get the name of an example. When overseas Chinese return home rich, they often pay homage to their ancestors, entertain their clansmen and take actions to celebrate, which is called acting with the wind. Some clans have disputes with foreigners with foreign surnames, or win the lawsuit, or win the battle, or swear to break up with them, or there are "black sheep" in the clans, which are regarded as major events that require temporary ancestor worship. At this time, the ancestral hall is the headquarters of the clan, the decision-making room, and the clan concept radiates the descendants of the whole family, and the banner of the surname covers the small sky of the whole family.