Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional stories - What were the rituals of going to the grave in ancient times?

What were the rituals of going to the grave in ancient times?

There are three forms of ancestor worship: first, it is a common way, that is, it is held in the place where ancestors are buried (usually in the village graveyard), commonly known as "going to the grave", and the time is mainly the anniversary of death and traditional major festivals (except Mid-Autumn Festival), such as New Year's Eve, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Mid-Autumn Festival (July 15), October 1, and June 1. The men in the family bring sacrificial incense paper to the grave, place sacrifices and water wine, then burn paper, burn incense, drink a libation, salute, and press paper on the grave. The custom of going to the grave is the most solemn, especially in Tomb-Sweeping Day. The morning before, we would "add soil" to our ancestral graves to show the prosperity of our family. In most rural families, sons have to go to the grave when they get married, which means telling their ancestors that their sons have a family and a large population. In addition, at the dawn of the seventh day after death, the family went to the grave to pay homage and mourn, which was called the "seventh base". After that, it is once every seven days, usually after the May 7th, and there are also bases to the July 7th. On the100th day after death, relatives and children prepare sacrifices to pay homage, which is called Baixiang. Some people used to put cash cows, cartons and paper cabinets on graves, but now they just burn some paper money. The second way is family sacrifice, that is, not going to the grave, or going to the grave at the same time. The memorial tablet or genealogy map with direct ancestors written on it is enshrined in the main hall or "home temple" for the whole family or the whole people to sacrifice together. The ceremony at home is called "Inviting Family Hall", which is very grand. In our village, the sacrifice spectrum is presided over by the oldest person in the family, and it is usually carried out at the same time as the continuation spectrum during the Chinese New Year. In recent decades, due to the implementation of cremation, cemeteries have become common, and grave sweeping is also carried out in cemeteries. There is also a form of "remote sacrifice", also called "please". Because of the bad weather, I can't go out, or I can't go to the grave in person, so I set up sacrifices at home or near the field and burn incense in the direction of my hometown's ancestral grave.