What are the different customs and activities in traditional Tomb-Sweeping Day, southern China and northern China?

In the pre-Qin period, China had the custom of offering sacrifices to ancestors on the Double Ninth Festival after autumn. After the Qin Dynasty, Tomb-Sweeping Day and the Double Ninth Festival became festivals to worship ancestors and sweep graves, and some of them also swept graves at other times. Of the 56 ethnic groups in China, 25 have visited Tomb-Sweeping Day. Although the customs vary from place to place, the basic theme is to sweep the grave to worship the ancestors and go outing. Influenced by the Han culture, 24 ethnic minorities also have the customs of Tomb-Sweeping Day.

The difference between the south and the north:

1. Tomb-Sweeping Day in the south mainly uses meat to worship ancestors, some places use pork, some places use chickens, ducks and geese to worship ancestors, and the north mainly uses cakes and cakes.

2. Qingming in the North Due to the weather, the winter snow in the north melts in spring, and some ancestors' graves are eroded by winter snow, so Qingming in the north pays more attention to repairing graves.

3. Most places in southern Tomb-Sweeping Day will eat a kind of Qingming Baba made of wild vegetables and wheat flour, some of which are called Qing Tuan.

4. In northern Tomb-Sweeping Day, there is a habit of inserting willow branches on the windowsill or eaves. It is said that this habit originated from Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, and there is still a folk saying that Qingming does not wear willow and turns yellow after death. In this sentence, we can see how much influence this custom has on the people. Whether you take willow or not is related to your fate after death. There is a saying that taking willow can avoid being bitten by insects.

5. A few southerners can't go home to worship their ancestors because they are delayed by working outside, so they choose to light two candles and burn some paper money for their ancestors.

6. Marry a daughter in the north, and you can't go home in Qingming. In the south, anyway, I have seen girls from the city go back to the countryside to sweep their parents' graves since I was a child.

7. Fly a kite. Flying kites is also a custom in northern China. In some places, people organize kite festivals and put kites in the sky to show bad luck and drive away evil spirits. People hope that flying kites in the blue sky will bring good luck and good luck.

Whether in the south or the north, Tomb-Sweeping Day has the custom of going for an outing. During the Qingming Festival, flowers are red and green, grass grows and warblers fly, which is a vibrant and moving scene. At this time, it is really a happy thing to help the old and bring the young to go for an outing and breathe the fresh air in the suburbs.