Why pay tribute to the grave on the winter solstice?

Go to the cemetery from winter solstice to worship and pray for good weather and happiness in the coming year.

Many places in southern China will celebrate the winter solstice. The southern coastal areas, such as western Guangdong, Chaoshan and parts of Zhejiang, continue the traditional custom of ancestor worship. Every household is dedicated to ancestor statues, memorial tablets, etc. Go to the hall at home, place an altar, set up incense burners, offerings, etc. While offering sacrifices to ancestors, some places also offer sacrifices to gods and land gods, and worship gods, so as to pray for good weather, family and prosperity in the coming year.

As early as the fifth year of Emperor Ding Yuan of the Han Dynasty, there was a custom of offering sacrifices to heaven in winter solstice, which was gradually institutionalized in later generations. The ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven is usually presided over by the "Emperor of Heaven", which reflects China people's awe of nature and expresses their desire to pray for a sunny day for the whole world.

The solstice in winter symbolizes the rise of cathode and the growth of everything. This "ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven" symbolizes the revival of the country and the joy of the people. It is also helpful for more people to understand ancient sacrificial rites, pay attention to traditional cultural festivals, protect history and show humanity.

Other customs to expand the information of winter solstice.

Cantonese people eat barbecue and ginger rice on the solstice in winter. On this day, most Cantonese people have the custom of "adding vegetables" to eat meat during the winter solstice. In Chaoshan area, there is a folk saying that "winter festival pills, once eaten, will celebrate the New Year", commonly known as "adding new year". Hakka people think that the water tastes the most mellow on the solstice in winter, so it has become a custom for Hakka people to make wine on the solstice in winter.

People in Hangzhou eat rice cakes on the solstice in winter. From the late Ming and early Qing dynasties to the present, people in Hangzhou have always liked to eat rice cakes on the solstice of winter. On the solstice of winter, you can make rice cakes with different flavors, eat rice cakes on the solstice of winter and get old. This is auspicious. In Sichuan, it is the time to eat mutton soup from winter solstice, and mutton is the first tonic in winter. In the two lakes region, red beans and glutinous rice must be eaten on the solstice in winter.

In some areas in the south, it is more popular to have a family reunion dinner on the winter solstice, which means reunion. The winter solstice group is not only eaten by family members, but also given to relatives and friends as a symbol of blessing. In fact, eating jiaozi on the solstice in winter is a traditional custom in China, which is more common in Jiangnan. There is also a folk saying that "eating jiaozi is one year older".

Source: Baidu Encyclopedia-Winter solstice