2023 Qingming burning paper a few days in advance. When is the earliest time to burn paper to sweep graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day?

Introduction: Most Chinese folk sacrifices use Ming coins. Generally, yellow paper and white paper are cut into copper coins and burned to death. This kind of paper money is spent by people in the underworld. The custom of paper money dates back to the Han Dynasty, and people have been burning paper money to give it to the dead for many years. So, how long will it take to burn paper in Qingming in 2023? When can Tomb-Sweeping Day burn paper to sweep graves in 2023? Go and see Bian Xiao.

How many days will Tomb-Sweeping Day burn paper in 2023?

Tomb-Sweeping Day can go to the grave to burn paper about a week in advance. In the past, there was a saying among the people that "Qingming comes early and it is late at eleven o'clock." The sooner Tomb-Sweeping Day is held, the better. It can be held one week or even two weeks before Tomb-Sweeping Day, without having to rush to Tomb-Sweeping Day. In Lishui, Zhejiang, the first three days and the last four days of Tomb-Sweeping Day's grave sweeping are called "the first three and the last four". There is a wider place called "the first seven and the last eight". In other words, you can visit the grave from the first seven days to the last eight days in Tomb-Sweeping Day.

When is the earliest time to burn paper to sweep graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day in 2023?

In 2023, Tomb-Sweeping Day can go to the grave about 15 days in advance, and the grave can be ready half a month before the festival on April 5 at the earliest. Of course, there is also a folk saying that it will take ten days after the tenth day, and there is also a local custom that it will take three days after the third day. In fact, there are no strict rules on the specific time. Just choose a date that suits you.

When is a good time for Tomb-Sweeping Day to sweep the grave?

The best time to sweep graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day is 7:00- 17:00.

From the perspective of geomantic omen, it is best to sweep graves when the sun is shining. Generally speaking, it is best to sweep the grave after 7 am and before 5 pm, and it is not suitable to sweep the grave before dawn and sunset. If you are depressed on the day of grave sweeping, you can wear jade on your body. It is said that wearing jade can calm the mind. When sweeping the grave, you should dress neatly and look solemn. Don't swear and make noise, let alone say disrespectful things to the dead. When sweeping the grave, you should concentrate on it, don't look around, don't step on other graves and don't judge other graves. It is also inappropriate to take photos as a souvenir in the cemetery. Pregnant women, patients and children under the age of 7 had better not go to the grave.

New grave: buried for less than 3 years; Grave-sweeping time is an auspicious day 10 days before Tomb-Sweeping Day. The second time to sweep the grave was the day before Tomb-Sweeping Day; The time for the third grave-sweeping is an auspicious day 10 after Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Old grave: refers to the time when the old grave has been buried for more than 3 years. Choose any day before or after Tomb-Sweeping Day, 10 day, and don't choose auspicious day; When the date of grave sweeping is chosen, the specific time of grave sweeping should be chosen at the fifth watch of the day, that is, before the sun comes out. This is due to the traditional custom that ghosts and gods dare to come out to eat offerings before dawn.

Grave-sweeping time in Tomb-Sweeping Day in some areas

Hebei Province

Hebei pays attention to "Qingming in the early morning and 11th in the evening (Lunar Ghost Festival)". A week before Qingming Festival, people began to sweep graves and burn paper. Few people in Tomb-Sweeping Day went to sweep graves. Southern Hebei chose to sweep graves at the Cold Food Festival the day before in Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Shanghai

The main activities in Tomb-Sweeping Day are grave-sweeping and hiking, and the number of people traveling around Tomb-Sweeping Day every year is nearly 10 million. Due to the reform and opening up, cemeteries have flourished, and related sites are mainly distributed in Suzhou and Jiaxing in other provinces. Therefore, the number of people going to the above areas is more than one million, which often causes traffic congestion in the province for several days before and after Qingming. In addition, the Youth League is a seasonal snack in Jiangnan. Its main body is glutinous rice flour, mixed with green wormwood (grass head juice) to make green cake balls, which are usually red bean paste or sesame seeds. Keep the habit of cold food when eating. For Shanghainese, the Youth League is an indispensable offering for Tomb-Sweeping Day to worship his ancestors.

Fujian Province

Fujian Minnan doesn't necessarily only visit graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day. There are generally two dates for sweeping graves. The custom in Quanzhou is a few days before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, while some people in Zhangzhou will choose to sweep graves near Shangsi Festival on the third day of March, and Hakkas generally sweep graves after the Spring Festival. The way is, after cleaning the grave environment (such as weeds and trees), worship the land god first, and then worship the ancestors. After the worship, press the "tomb paper" on the grave with a small stone, indicating that the grave has been repaired. Tomb-Sweeping Day usually didn't cook that day, but only ate cool cakes, which originated from the custom of Cold Food Festival.

Sichuan Province

Sacrificial ceremony of Water-splashing Festival in Dujiangyan, Sichuan, Tomb-Sweeping Day (Erwangmiao Temple Fair) for Li Bing and his son (Dujiangyan, Chengdu).

Shanxi

Tomb-Sweeping Day goes to the grave, and most places in the south of Shanxi don't burn incense or paper, so there are things like money hanging in front of the grave. There was a saying that "the river on Qingming Festival is white". The reason is that the Cold Food Festival is used to banning fire, and Tomb-Sweeping Day is during the Cold Food Festival. Most places in northern Shanxi have to burn all the money and other things on the grounds that they will not be transferred to their ancestors unless they are burned. Datong and other places are used to going to the grave during the day and burning money at home at night. In Hequ and other places in northwest Shanxi, it is an old custom to bring wine and vegetables to the grave and then eat and drink in front of the grave, which means drinking and eating with ancestors. In Wenxi and other places in the south of Shanxi, jujube cakes are used to roll in front of the grave when going to the grave. Legend has it that it is to tickle the dead old man. In Jinzhong Jiexiu and other places, when going to the grave, the offering is a cake shaped like a snake. When you get home, put the bread in the yard and dry it before eating. The old people pay attention to treating diseases, the source of which is that cold food is forbidden to fire.