Local differences in Qingming Festival:

1. Hainan

When Hainan people worship their ancestors during the Qingming Festival, they also have the folk tradition of reciting ancestral precepts and ethnic rules. Fu Cechao, president of the Hainan Provincial Intangible Culture Research Association, said that all Han people in Hainan are immigrants from the mainland. Before the Tang Dynasty, about 20,000 Han people moved to Hainan, about 100,000 people moved there during the Song Dynasty, and the number increased to more than 2 million during the Qing Dynasty. There are about 100 surnames in Ruqiong, and there are about 300 ancestors in Ruqiong. In order to commemorate the ancestors of the Qiong Dynasty, later generations have built "ancestral temples" in various places, and often hold sacrificial activities during the Qingming Festival. In these sacrificial activities, there are often eight-tone accompaniments, sacrificial texts are recited and sung, and the merits of the founder of Ruqiong are recalled.

“During folk sacrifices, ancestral injunctions and clan rules are also recited, and these sacrificial texts, ancestral precepts, and clan rules are all wonderful songs.” Fu Cechao recited a small part of the talismans to reporters. The Three-Character Classic of Clan Instructions reads, "Love the motherland, be filial to parents, be friends with brothers and couples, be loyal to relatives, be united, be kind to neighbors, be cautious in making friends..." Listening to today, these ancestral mottos and songs still have educational significance.

When Hainanese people sweep their graves, they sacrifice pigs, geese, fish, cakes and fruits, and burn incense and turn them into treasures. There are also residents with the same surname who catch pigs and sheep to offer sacrifices to the tombs of their ancestors, praying for prosperity for future generations. There are two types of ancestor worship during the Qingming Festival. The first is to sacrifice "one's own ancestors". In one or several households, "three animals", dried rice and other sacrifices are placed in front of the ancestor's tablet at home, and everyone kneels down to worship. Later, sacrifices were made to the "ancestors", in units of dozens or hundreds of households, and all clans with the same surname participated. The prepared sacrifices are brought to the ancestors' graves to worship, the weeds are removed, and new soil is added.

2. Shanxi

Shanxi has an old saying: "The clear drizzle makes people mourn, the wild flowers bloom in Momo (Tufan), and there are sacrifices in hands and shovels on shoulders, all of which are on the graves of the ancestors." The folk song "Tu Lai" vividly summarizes the mood of the people and the characteristics of tomb-sweeping at that time. In spring, people often repair their houses to prevent leaks from summer rain. Reminiscing from the living to the dead, the tombs in the fields often collapse due to exposure to wind and rain. The most important feature of visiting graves during the Qingming Festival is to eradicate weeds from the graves and use new soil to heighten and strengthen the graves. This is called repairing the graveyard, which expresses the grief of the children and grandchildren for their ancestors.

In the southern part of Shanxi, regardless of whether they are rich or poor, both men and women attend the graves, which means that all future generations are remembering their ancestors. In the northern region, visiting graves is mostly a matter for men, and women generally do not visit graves. In Datong, Pingyao and other places, in the evening, women in the old customs would burst into tears outside the gate. "The entire village was filled with mourning, and it was full of sadness that reached the ears." In most places in southern Shanxi, people do not burn incense or melt paper when visiting graves. Instead, they hang money and other objects on the tomb. There is a saying that "the graves are all white during the Qingming Festival." The reason is that it is customary to prohibit fire during the Cold Food Festival, and Qingming Festival falls during the Cold Food Festival. In most places in northern Shanxi, all money and other items must be burned. The reason is that if they are not burned, they will not be transferred to the ancestors. Datong also had the habit of visiting graves during the day and burning money and silk at home at night.

In places such as Hequ in northwest Shanxi, it is an old custom to bring wine and food to the graves. After worshiping the ancestors, they will eat and drink in the graveyard, which means drinking and eating with the ancestors. In places such as Wenxi in southern Shanxi, people use date cakes to roll around on the grave when visiting the grave. Legend has it that it is to scratch the itch of the dead old man. In Jiexiu and other places in the middle of Jin Dynasty, when visiting graves, offerings are flour cakes shaped like coiled snakes. After returning home, put the flour cake in the yard and let it dry in the sun before eating. The old people pay attention to curable diseases, which stems from the prohibition of cold food and fire.

After visiting the tomb in southern Shanxi, people should pull up some wheat seedlings when they return home and insert pine branches, cypress leaves or willow sticks on the door to ward off evil spirits. In northern Shanxi, wicker is often planted. In other places, some willow sticks are also inserted on the graves.

On Qingming Festival, people in southern Shanxi make steamed steamed buns stuffed with walnuts, red dates, beans, etc., which are called Zifu. It means that your descendants will be blessed, all thanks to the blessings of your ancestors. Every family also makes black bean jelly, cuts it into thin pieces and pours it into soup. Shoveling withered grass and rubbing it on the kang mat is called driving away scorpions. In the southeastern part of Shanxi, people wear willow branches and dead leaves on their heads. Women should use gold-painted Caisheng (headgear) on their temples. In the northern Shanxi region, it is customary to raw black bean sprouts and eat them with corn bread and black bean sprout stuffing. In the northwestern part of Shanxi, millet flour is used to make cakes, which is commonly known as "tanhuang'er". In the Luliang area, on the day after the Qingming Festival, people have to pick up their daughters and invite their sons-in-law, which is commonly known as "fresh fire".

On the Qingming Festival in Hequ County, millet noodles are used to make cakes, which are called "Tanhuang'er". During the Tomb Sweeping Day in Shouyang County, boys and girls cut colorful paper into strings and wear them on their heads. It is said that this is a legacy of the ancient "color victory". People in Yicheng County pre-cook black noodle jelly, cut it into thin slices during Qingming Festival, and pour it with soup to eat. During the Qingming Festival in Jiezhou, all female sex workers are stopped. It is said that anyone who uses needlework on this day will become blind. Children in Pinglu County tie their hair with wheat on their heads during the Qingming Festival to pray for longevity.

3. Taiwan

China has a vast territory and different climates in the north and south, so the Tomb-Sweeping Festival also varies from place to place. Some people celebrate it on the second day of February and some on the third day of March. The Tomb-Sweeping Festival in Taiwan is the 105th day from the winter solstice of the previous year. The Tomb-Sweeping Festival for Zhangzhou residents in Taiwan is on the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar. The customs of Tomb Sweeping Day in Taiwan are similar to those in southern Fujian. Hakka people in Taiwan start worshiping their ancestors and sweeping their graves after the Lantern Festival. The date is determined by each family until Tomb Sweeping Day.

In the past, in rural Taiwan, after sweeping the tombs, a group of children would come to ask for rice cakes. The more people who came, it meant that the family would become more prosperous in the future, and the owners would be happy to share the rice cakes. Send "fa kueh" or money to those children.

Later, due to the decrease in the number of cemeteries in Taiwan, urns were implemented. Many people placed urns on the ash towers and went to the urns to worship during the Qingming Festival, which also served the purpose of worshiping their ancestors. Due to the gradual changes in people's concepts, many rituals of visiting ancestors' tombs have been omitted.

Taiwanese people’s tomb-sweeping customs can generally be divided into two types: one is general sacrificial sweeping, the ceremony and sacrificial items are relatively simple, and most of them only provide some rice cakes, rice cakes and cakes; the other is trimming At the ancestral tomb, the sacrifice ceremony is quite grand. The sacrifice ceremony generally includes various sacrifice gifts, twelve kinds of vegetables, rice dumplings, cakes, etc. When sweeping the tomb, you must place "tomb papers" (cut into rectangular shapes from five-color paper) around the tomb. Each piece of paper should be pressed with small stones, and a stack should be placed on the tombstone. This ceremony is commonly known as "hanging paper", which is money dedicated to ancestors. If it is tomb repairing, that is, repairing the ancestral tomb, the whole family will gather around the tomb and eat red eggs. The eggshells will be scattered on the tomb, which has the auspicious meaning of metabolism and endless life. While sweeping the tomb, you should also pay homage to the Tugong (there is a small stone tablet) who has been standing by to guard the cemetery and the peace of the ancestors for a long time. On the one hand, it is to express condolences, and it also means to express gratitude. There is also a special custom in Taiwan. If there is a happy event in the family during this year, the tomb must be decorated when sweeping the tomb. A small red lamp (oil lamp) must be prepared to light in front of the tomb and taken home when returning home. It is said that it can attract more people. Joyful and auspicious.

4. Jiangsu

Qingming Festival Customs in Jiangsu Province Taizhou farmers hold rowing competitions on the Qingming Festival, which is called "boat racing". People in Zhenjiang make tea from seven willow leaves. It is said that drinking it can improve eyesight. The villagers near Mianshan in Dantu County still retain the old custom of "Wang Mian" (Mianshan) in the cold. In Fangmaoshan, Wujin County, the Qingming Festival is the day when the Dragon Mother incarnates, and villagers compete to pray.

5. Shanghai

It is an old custom in Shanghai to eat peach blossom porridge and purple bamboo shoot tea during the Qingming Festival, and there are also customs of offering sacrifices to Litai and welcoming the city god on his tour.

6. Anhui

Huizhou Prefecture makes wine in Taoxinquan during the Qingming Festival. During the Qingming Festival in Guichi County, women make rice cocoons to offer sacrifices to silkworms and pray for a good sericulture harvest. Jingxian County calls Qingming Festival the "Willow-Putting Festival". During the Qingming Festival in Shouchun, every family will plant willows and hang paper money on the tomb tree, which is called "wild ghost".

7. Zhejiang

On Qingming Night in Haining County, silkworm farmers will wrap their silkworms under cotton-padded clothes while sleeping. It is said that silkworms will breed more easily if they gain popularity. In Jiaxing County, eating green snails on Qingming night is called "picking greens". There is a dragon boat show during the Qingming Festival in Haiyan County. The Qingming hairpin willow in Taizhou Prefecture is called Qixiang Jiuniang. When Shaoxing people visit their ancestors' graves, they prepare some candies and biscuits, called "grave-visiting fruits," and distribute them to children living near their ancestors' graves.

Zhoushan people visit tombs to pay homage to their ancestors. When paying homage, out of respect and memory for their ancestors, people first cut weeds, trim the tomb trees, and move soil to build the tomb, so it is called tomb sweeping. Then, incense and candles are lit, and offerings such as snails, green cakes, strip cakes, and dishes are placed. The old-fashioned parents lead the whole family to kneel and kowtow, and the new-style bowing ceremony is performed. After the ceremony, bamboo flags are placed on the top of the tomb, paper money and ghost money are burned, and "mochi money" (mochi is green cake, whose shape is round or diamond-shaped) is distributed to the children watching the visit to the tomb. After visiting the grave, they still have to make "Qingming soup rice" when they return home.

8. Shandong

In Zhaoyuan, Jimo, Linqu, Linqing and other places, when sweeping tombs during the Qingming Festival, new soil must be added to the tombs. It is said that this is to build the house for the ancestors to avoid leakage in summer. In Weihai, Qixia, Huangxian and other places, after the whole clan pays homage to their ancestors' graves, they eat the steamed buns and dishes together, which is called "Fang Shi" or "祊社". The northern Shandong area also retains the custom of "cockfighting" in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Children in Bin County beat each other with boiled eggs on this day. Whoever's egg breaks first loses. In Qishan, Boshan and other places, a pot of dry millet rice is cooked for cattle to have a full meal during the Qingming Festival, which is called "rice cattle". There is a proverb that goes: "A thousand scoldings and beatings only take one meal during the Qingming Festival."

9. Hunan

Placing willow trees during the Qingming Festival in Changsha Prefecture is called "Remembering the Years". Yongzhou Prefecture collects water in the early morning of Qingming Festival. The taste and color do not change after several months, so it is especially good for making wine. A farmer's proverb in Xintian County: "When the weather is clear and clear, everything will be perfect."

10. Shaanxi

During Qingming Festival in Xingping County, in-laws give each other paper money as gifts and pay homage to each other’s graves. Every household in Fuping County invites spring water from famous mountains to worship a god during the Qingming Festival. Preparing animal sacrifices to pray for a good harvest is called "swimming in the water". After the Qingming Festival in Tongzhou County, willow branches are broken and inserted into the door; paper money is attached to the tree trunk. It is said that this can prevent insects and ants. Steamed steamed buns are eaten during the Qingming Festival in Luochuan County, and the buns are decorated in the shape of birds and snakes around them. It is said that birds and snakes protected Jie Zitu when he climbed Mianshan Mountain, so this is used as a commemoration.

11. Sichuan

In places such as Chongqing and Wanxian in eastern Sichuan, there was an old custom of "going to graves". Around the Qingming Festival, three or two women go to the countryside for a picnic with wine and food. Men, whether they are acquaintances or not, can sit down and have fun together. In Shifang and other places, women dip shepherd's purse flowers in oil and then put them into the water to predict good or bad luck based on the patterns on the water, which is called "oil divination". In Chengdu, fried rice dumplings are sold, which are dotted with colorful dots and strung together with threads, which are called "happy rice dumplings".

12. Guangxi

Hengzhou villagers take willow leaves and snails soaked in water to wash their eyes during the Qingming Festival. It is said that their eyes can be brightened. After the tomb is swept in Xingren County, a long banner made of white paper is hung on the head of the tomb, which is called "marking the tomb" or "hanging green". When sweeping tombs in Kaiyang County, the officiating priest prepares wine and food to offer sacrifices. After the sacrifice, relatives and friends have a feast nearby, which is called a "picnic".

13. Jiangxi

In Xinjian County, the Qingming Festival is celebrated, for example, spring cakes are used. Tomb-sweeping in Yongfeng County lasts three days before and seven days after Qingming Festival. In addition to the routine animal sacrifices, rice flour is also used as fruit, called cocoon fruit, or glutinous rice is pressed into cakes and poured with sugar juice, called rice fruit. There is still a legacy of cold food. Only men perform the Qingming Festival in Anyi County, and women do not participate.

14. Guangdong

Ruyuan County calls the ten days before the Qingming Festival "forbidden wind", and the residents of the county wear peach leaves on their heads. After the tomb sweeping in Puyang County during the Qingming Festival, the "offering ceremony" is held. That is, the officiant presides over the ceremony. After the tomb-sweeping sacrifices are cooked, those who visit the tomb are invited to eat them. Tomb sweeping during Qingming Festival in Guangning County is called "Mountain Worship".

15. Fujian

On the Qingming Festival in Fuzhou, there are many tourists outing in the eastern suburbs. Most of them pick up wild vegetables and cook them, which is called zucaizi. Hui'an people fly kites and play wheat flutes when sweeping tombs. During the Qingming Festival in Quanzhou, people eat "moist cakes" and make "foot cakes", which are ball-shaped snacks. It is said that eating foot cakes during the Qingming Festival can increase leg strength. Children under the age of ten also play with colorful flags during the Qingming Festival. Taiwan’s Tomb-Sweeping Day Customs Most people in Zhangzhou visit graves on March 3 (commonly known as the Three-Day Festival), while people in Quanzhou visit tombs on Tomb-Sweeping Day. Regarding the differences on this day, there is a saying that people in Zhang and Quan often have disputes and fights with each other over buying vegetables during the Qingming Festival. Therefore, after the government intervened, it was stipulated that Zhangzhou people would sweep tombs on the Three-Day Festival and Quanzhou people on the Qingming Festival.

16. Hebei

In Hebei, the tradition of burning paper money at graves is "early during the Qingming Festival and late at the eleventh day of the lunar calendar (Ghost Festival)". Tomb-sweeping and paper-burning began a week before the Qingming Festival, and few people went to the tomb-sweeping day on the Qingming Festival. In southern Hebei, people choose to sweep graves on the Cold Food Festival, the day before Qingming Festival. Alluring men and women go out for an outing in the suburbs, looking at flowers, picking vegetables, and hairpins. There is a proverb: "If you don't wear a willow during the Qingming Festival, a beauty will turn into a bright head."

Dongan County plants willows and looks at flowers during the Qingming Festival. Five or seven days before the festival, people will pay homage to their graves, and on the day of Tomb-Sweeping Day, they will worship their ancestors in their own halls. In Yongping Prefecture, the day before cold food is regarded as maggot day and maggot sauce is made. The official altar holds sacrifices to Li. Qingming Festival in Yuanshi County is also called the Flower Festival. People buy flowers, buy wine and entertain guests.

17. Henan

On the Qingming Festival in Gong County, the son-in-law also pays homage to the ancestral graves of the Yue family. People offer sacrifices to the gods of Qingmiao, Ox King and Hongshan. In Mengjin County, green seedlings are planted in the wheat fields during the Qingming Festival.

18. Hong Kong

Tomb-Sweeping Day is an important festival in Hong Kong. Hong Kong people will go to their ancestors’ graves, burn incense and candles, and offer sacrifices mostly in the form of fruits, flowers, roasted pigs or Blanched chicken. Hong Kong people are often accustomed to worshiping mountains weeks in advance to avoid crowds, and they do not necessarily abide by the tradition of sweeping tombs and worshiping ancestors on Qingming Day.

As early as the British Hong Kong period, the border between China and Hong Kong was heavily guarded since the end of the Kuomintang Civil War and the Communist Party of China came to power. However, during the Qingming Festival, the Sha Tau Kok restricted area on the border between China and Hong Kong was mostly restricted. The land was opened to people to worship at Shaling Cemetery; from 1950 to the mid-to-early 1970s, China had not yet implemented the reform and opening up policy, and many people would return to their hometowns on the pretext of worshiping their ancestors during the Tomb Sweeping Day. Everyone wore They wear multiple layers of clothes and carry an unusually large amount of daily necessities to support relatives and friends in the countryside. There will also be panic buying and ticket scalping of Guangdong and Hong Kong train tickets.

19. Indonesian Chinese

The Chinese living in Indonesia have continued the custom of paying homage to their ancestors and sweeping their tombs during the Qingming Festival. "Filial piety comes first among all good deeds." In the values ????of Chinese society, "filial piety" ranks first. Sweeping graves and worshiping ancestors is a manifestation of filial piety.

One week before Qingming Festival, Chinese Indonesians begin to buy paper money, candles, flower baskets and modern offerings such as "gold bars" and "mobile phones". People who go to visit graves in other places have booked air tickets and boat tickets early. Chinese Indonesians say that Tomb Sweeping Day is very meaningful. During this period, not only do they visit the graves of their ancestors and remember their merits, but it is also a day for brothers and sisters to reunite. The custom of Tomb Sweeping Day should be passed down from generation to generation, especially in modern society, where filial piety should be promoted.

Chinese people mostly worship their ancestors in the ancestral halls of hundreds of surnames. Since each surname has its own clan hall and ancestral hall, the clan members have gathered in the hall to worship their ancestors. Clan members usually have lunch together after worshiping their ancestors to maintain friendship among the clans. Some even use this opportunity to award scholarships to their descendants who have excelled in their studies, which embodies the traditional Chinese virtues of pursuing the future with caution, remembering the merits of their ancestors, and encouraging the younger generations to study hard and strive for success. During the Qingming Festival, some places hold gatherings for teachers, students and alumni to deepen their friendship with each other. More Chinese families go to cemeteries to sweep the graves of their ancestors, or go to temples to offer incense and pray for blessings.

20. Singaporean Chinese

On weekends from late March to early April every year, there will always be people on the roads leading to suburban cemeteries, urns and temples in Singapore. Continuous "vehicle queues" and bustling crowds of people. Like Chinese descendants in other parts of the world, the Chinese in Singapore will never forget to visit the tombs of their ancestors during the Tomb Sweeping Day, "remembering our ancestors and being cautious about pursuing our ancestors."

The Chinese in Singapore still visit graves according to traditional rituals. During the Tomb Sweeping Festival, Singaporean Chinese will go out with their families, place wine, food, fruits and flowers in front of the tombs of their relatives, light incense and candles, burn paper money, kowtow and finally go home after eating the food and wine.

Returning to China to recognize ancestors and worship ancestors has been a rising trend among Singaporean Chinese in the past 20 years. Before the Tomb Sweeping Day, Chinese Singaporeans often ask each other in their hometown dialect when they meet: "Will you go back to your hometown to celebrate the Tomb Sweeping Day?" There is only one reason for traveling thousands of miles to visit the tombs of their ancestral homes in China: not to forget their ancestors.

Some Chinese people say that they are not able to accept the fashionable "online worship" method. If conditions permit, they must kowtow in front of their ancestors' tombs in person. Even young Chinese in Singapore who have received Western education do not dare to neglect the Tomb Sweeping Day, because worshiping and worshiping ancestors is a Chinese tradition that has been passed down for thousands of years.

21. Chinese Americans

During the Tomb Sweeping Day, the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California holds activities every year to commemorate the Chinese ancestors and calls on the Chinese not to forget the pioneering work of their ancestors in California. contribute. Local Chinese have carried out annual Tomb-Sweeping Day commemorations in different ways.

The different experiences of New York Chinese determine their different ways of celebrating Tomb Sweeping Day. On this day, many traditional overseas Chinese groups have published spring festival advertisements in newspapers, posted notices in their clubs, and organized members to pay homage to the cemeteries where their ancestors are buried. Tomb sweeping during Qingming Festival has become a social occasion for Chinese people to connect with each other and increase communication. New immigrants who came to the United States after the 1970s often expressed their longing for their ancestors to relatives and friends in their homeland through letters and phone calls.

Although Chinese Americans are far away from their homeland, many believe that while accepting the mainstream American social culture, they should not forget China’s traditional festivals. Chinese Fang Yan pointed out that commemorating traditional Chinese festivals can help promote the virtues of the Chinese nation and enhance exchanges and unity among overseas Chinese.