What is the origin of willow cuttings in Tomb-Sweeping Day?

Tomb-Sweeping Day has a saying: It turns out that people in China regard Tomb-Sweeping Day, July 30th and October 1st as the three major ghost festivals, which are the time for ghosts to haunt and ask for help. In order to prevent the harassment and persecution of ghosts, people put willows and put them on. Willow has the function of ward off evil spirits in people's minds.

Influenced by Buddhism, people think that willows can exorcise ghosts and call them "ghost trees". Guanyin dipped willow branches in water to help all beings. Jia Sixie of the Northern Wei Dynasty said in the Book of Qi Yao Min: "Take a willow branch and put it on the house, and a hundred ghosts will not enter the house." Tomb-Sweeping Day is a ghost festival. When wicker sprouted, people naturally inserted willows to ward off evil spirits.

There is also a saying that there were many masters who liked to catch ghosts in ancient China. They think that willow belongs to the shade, which not only has the function of gathering ghosts and accommodating ghosts, but also can drive away evil spirits and disasters, drive away dirty things at home and protect the safety and health of family members. So in their mouth, willow is also called ghost willow, and Tomb-Sweeping Day is the day when the door of the underworld is wide open, so inserting wicker at the door also expresses people's yearning for peace and happiness.