Can the time of going to the grave from winter solstice be advanced?

Generally speaking, the time to go to the grave from the winter solstice can be advanced, but it cannot be postponed.

In ancient China, people thought that the winter solstice was the "beginning of unification", so it was the "New Year" after the winter solstice, so there was no plan to go to the grave after the winter solstice. However, in some areas of our country, grave-sweeping sacrifices can be carried out in the first three days and the last four days of the winter solstice, depending on local traditional customs.

The winter solstice is a very important solar term in the China lunar calendar. The winter solstice usually falls on February 22nd or 23rd of Gregorian calendar 12. In ancient China, people attached great importance to the winter solstice and thought it was a grand festival. There is a saying that the winter solstice is as big as a year, and there is a custom to celebrate it.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cui Ai's "Four-person Moon Order" recorded the worship of ancestors on the winter solstice, saying that people should offer something recommended to Xuan Ming and Zuyi. The record of ancestor worship in the winter of solstice increased in the Song Dynasty. "Dream of Tokyo" tells the story of the Winter Solstice Festival, which is the most important day in the capital. Today, it is easier to wear new clothes, prepare meals and enjoy ancestor worship. Legend of Wulin says wonton is the first enjoyment.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, ancestor worship was popular from winter to the sun. Jiajing's "Jiangyin County Records" records: "On holidays, the portrait of Zukao is hung in nave, and a ceremony is set up, and its ceremony depends on New Year's Day." In the southern region where the clan system is prosperous, ancestor worship is often held in ancestral temples. Records of Nankang County, Jiajing, Jiangxi Province: "Worship on the winter solstice precedes the ancestral hall, and the tomb is as bright as a tomb."

Extended data:

A folk proverb in Chaoshan area says, "There is no ancestor in the winter festival." This means that people who go out must go home to worship their ancestors on the solstice in winter anyway, otherwise they will have no concept of ancestral home.

Another manifestation of the year-long winter solstice is ancestor worship. Records of Shenze County, Hebei Province record: "Winter solstice, worship first, worship elders, New Year's Day and other ceremonies." This means holding a grand ceremony to worship ancestors and elders on the solstice of winter, just like on New Year's Day.

This is a custom in the south and north, such as Quanzhou. Those who go out during the winter solstice will try their best to go back to their hometown to celebrate the festival. Ancestor worship ceremony and Tomb-Sweeping Day's ancestor worship, collectively called Spring Festival and Winter Festival, are very strict and the participants are very devout.

In Tongcheng, Anhui Province, on the winter solstice festival, the ancestral graves burned paper money to worship their ancestors. On this day, the tombs were restored and the whole tombs were built. In Jinshan, Shanghai, the winter solstice used to be the custom of burying and burning children's coffins, but now it has evolved into urn burial. Huzhou, Hangzhou also wants to sweep graves.

People's Daily Online-Winter solstice custom: Go to the grave to worship ancestors and entertain teachers.