The Qingming Festival is a day to pay tribute to ancestors and sweep the tombs. This folk custom has been passed down for thousands of years. On this day, people will prepare various sacrifices to send solemnly to their deceased relatives. your own thoughts and respect.
But there are many taboos when it comes to sweeping graves. In rural areas, one often hears such a saying: “Going to the grave during the Qingming Festival, before the Three and four, left five and right six”, then, what does this sentence mean?
First three and last four
“The first three and the last four” means that it is best to go to the grave three days before or four days after the Qingming Festival to burn paper. One theory is that there are more people burning paper at the grave on the Qingming Festival, and the burned coins are prone to be lost. And the first three days on the underworld road will not be too crowded, and the deceased relatives can quickly receive the coins.
Another way of saying that is because the day before Qingming Festival is the “Cold Food Festival”, and the Cold Food Festival is for It is a festival set up to commemorate the famous minister Jie Zitui in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. On this day, no fire is allowed, and cold food is also eaten.
Therefore, it is believed that the best time to visit the grave is three days before or four days after Qingming Festival.
Left Five Right Six
“Five on the left and six on the right” also has two versions. The first is that it is not as early as possible to go to the grave and burn paper on the Qingming Festival, it is best to go before the sun rises at five or six in the morning. Because during this period of time, the yin is prosperous and the yang is declining, so it is convenient for the deceased relatives to come out and collect the coins. Another way of saying that it is not allowed to build graves on Qingming Day, but to build graves and build soil in advance five or six days after the spring equinox.
It is said that it would be a little late to build the graves and soil on the day of Qingming Festival, burning paper and repairing Tomb, it will disturb the deceased to collect coins.
Of course, there are not so many taboos about these now, but it is best to be at two or three in the afternoon Before completing the tomb sweeping. There are many ways to commemorate the deceased. Most people think that burning paper at the grave is a waste of money and a fire hazard. Nowadays, the new crown epidemic has been repeated repeatedly, and more and more people have chosen the method of commemorating online, which is both environmentally friendly and safe.
Source of content:Traditional Chinese Medicine Moxibustion Health WeChat Public Account
Organizing editor: Journal of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Nursing
Correspondent: Qin Shasha, Sun Lei, Wang Jingjing