First of all, the Hakka people worship their ancestors in the Spring and Autumn Period, and do not worship their ancestors on the Tomb-Sweeping Day (but now that living conditions have improved, many people worship their ancestors on the Tomb-Sweeping Day).
Meizhou Hakka people call grave sweeping and worshiping ancestors "hanging paper".
The days for "hanging paper" are usually from the Spring Festival to the eve of Qingming Festival, or around the Mid-Autumn Festival.
When sweeping the tombs, Hakka people will bring the "three animals", namely chickens, pigs and fish, fruits, tea, wine, incense and other sacrifices to their ancestors' graves to worship their ancestors, and hang papyrus stained with chicken blood on the graves.
, place papyrus around the cemetery to express condolences.
There is a historical reason why the Hakka people do not visit tombs to worship their ancestors on Qingming Festival.
According to Zhu Zhuguang, director of the Meixian Museum, because the Qingming Festival falls during the Three Famines period, the Hakka people who migrated far away lived in poverty at that time. At this time, it was difficult to even prepare the "three animals" of chicken, pork, and fish for ancestor worship, let alone purchase other items.
Sacrifice.
At the same time, because the Qingming Festival coincides with the busy season of spring plowing and production, the industrious Hakka people are worried about missing the season and affecting the harvest, and are busy sowing and transplanting rice seedlings, so they set the day for ancestor worship and sweeping the tombs at a relatively leisure time.
In addition to the traditional custom of not sweeping tombs to worship ancestors, during the Qingming Festival, there is another custom that has been passed down for hundreds of years in the Hakka area of ??Meizhou, and that is eating Qingming rice dumplings.
According to 63-year-old Aunt Li from Xingning, Meizhou, every year on the eve of Qingming Festival, Hakka women will go to the mountains to pick or go to the market to buy ramie leaves, mugwort leaves, chicken vine and other plants. After returning, they are dried in the sun, crushed, and mixed with glutinous rice.
Add sugar to flour or sticky rice flour, shape into small glutinous rice cakes and steam them in a pot to become a fragrant and delicious Hakka delicacy - Qingming rice dumplings.
"I learned how to make Qingming rice dumplings when I was very young. I learned it from my mother. I have been making it for decades now without stopping. My children who work outside have to bring a big bag when they come back every Qingming Festival.
"Aunt Li said.
In the Meizhou area, it is said that eating Qingming rice dumplings on the Qingming Festival can ward off evil spirits and eliminate diseases, and prevent all diseases.
Zhang Fengyi, a Hakka girl, said: "When I was a child, every Qingming Festival, my grandma or mother would put two pieces of Qingming rice dumplings in my pocket, saying it was to 'ward off evil spirits.' When I grew up, I realized that this was a saying passed down by the older generation, but
I still love eating Qingming rice dumplings, especially those made by my mother. "Nowadays, Qingming rice dumplings with a strong grass flavor have become one of the most famous snacks in the Meizhou Hakka area.
The small Qingming rice dumpling has been passed down for hundreds of years. In addition to the beautiful meaning given to it by our ancestors, it is also related to its own efficacy.
It is understood that the raw materials for making Qingming rice dumplings are ramie leaves, mugwort leaves, chicken vines, etc., which are herbal medicines and have the effects of removing dampness and warming the stomach. The humidity in eastern Guangdong is relatively high. Local residents eating Qingming rice dumplings can dehumidify and prevent various diseases.
The role of disease.