1, Tomb-Sweeping Day
Tomb-Sweeping Day, also known as the Walking Festival, is a traditional festival in China, and it is also one of the most important festivals in China. It is a day to worship ancestors and sweep graves.
It is said that the origin of Tomb-Sweeping Day began with the ceremony of "tomb sacrifice" by the ancient emperors and generals, and later the people followed suit, and it became a fixed custom of the Chinese nation to worship ancestors and sweep graves on this day. Originally, the Cold Food Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day were two different festivals. In the Tang Dynasty, the day to worship the grave was designated as the Cold Food Festival. The correct date of the Cold Food Festival is 105 days after the Winter Solstice, around the Qingming Festival. Because the two dates are similar, Qingming Festival and cold food are merged into one day.
Tomb-Sweeping Day's customs are rich and interesting. Apart from paying attention to forbidding fire and sweeping graves, there are also a series of customs and sports activities such as jogging, swinging, playing cuju, playing polo and inserting willows. According to legend, Tomb-Sweeping Day visited the grave because cold food was forbidden during the Cold Food Festival. In order to prevent cold food and cold meals from hurting people, everyone took part in some sports activities to exercise. In Tomb-Sweeping Day, people avoid needles and laundry, and women in most areas avoid walking. Before evening, a gray line should be sprinkled in front of the gate, which is said to prevent ghosts from entering the house.
2. Mid-Autumn Festival
Every year, the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month is the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival, which is called by Taoism in China. On the same day, Buddhism called it "Bonin Festival", while folks called it "Ghost Festival". According to the five miscellaneous records: "The Daojing takes the 15th of the first month as the Shang Yuan, the 15th of July as the Zhong Yuan, and the 15th of October as the Xia Yuan." The meaning of Menglan basin is hanging upside down, and the pain of life is like a bat hanging upside down on a tree, hanging and miserable. In order to save all living beings from the suffering of hanging upside down, it is necessary to chant scriptures and give food to ghosts and ghosts. This happened to coincide with China's ghost moon worship, so the Mid-Autumn Festival and Menglan Club were handed down at the same time.
On the 15th of July, every folk family offered sacrifices to their ancestors. Some burn incense for their ancestors at home or in ancestral temples and worship the whole family; Some went to their ancestors' graves to add soil, offer offerings and burn incense. After dark, carry firecrackers, paper money, incense sticks, burn some paper money, set off firecrackers, send ancestors on their way, and return to the "underworld." At that time, every family will offer sacrifices to melons, fruits, vegetables, rice, etc., hold various sacrificial activities, pray for the blessing of the local officials, and take care of the "homeless" ghosts; It is necessary to set up an altar, with monks chanting scriptures, burning evil money and sending alms.
On this day, there is an important activity to put out river lanterns. The water lantern means universal life. Traditionally, it is said that the water lantern is to guide those who are unjust and dead. When the light goes out, the water lamp has completed the task of guiding the ghosts across the Naihe Bridge.
3. Cold Clothes Festival
Every year, the first day of October in the lunar calendar is called "October Dynasty", also known as "ancestor worship festival". To send a cold clothes festival. Also known as Ghost Festival, this day pays special attention to paying homage to those who die first, which is called sending cold clothes.
The first day of October in the lunar calendar is also the first day of winter. Since then, the weather is getting colder and colder, and people are afraid that their ancestors' souls in the underworld are short of clothes and clothes. Therefore, in addition to general offerings such as food, incense sticks and paper money, there is also an indispensable offering-the shroud. At the time of offering sacrifices, people incinerate the ghost clothes to their ancestors, which is called "sending cold clothes". Burning cold clothes on the first day of October embodies the memory of the old people and the sympathy of the living for the dead.
People should not only send cold clothes to the dead for the winter, but also the living should carry out some traditional activities symbolizing the winter. On this day, women will take out their cotton-padded clothes and let their children and husbands change seasons. If the weather is still warm and it is not suitable to wear cotton at this time, we should also urge our children and husbands to try it on for good luck. Men are used to arranging stoves and chimneys on this day. After the installation, try to make a fire to ensure smooth heating in cold weather.