What are the customs in Tomb-Sweeping Day?

Tomb-Sweeping Day is one of the three major Halloween festivals in China. "Ghost Festival" is a festival to mourn the dead, as opposed to a festival to worship gods and land gods.

The participants in Tomb-Sweeping Day are all the people, from princes and ministers to ordinary people, to pay homage to the dead souls of their ancestors on this festival. Since the Tang Dynasty, the imperial court has given officials a holiday and asked them to go to their hometown to visit their graves. According to the Song Dynasty's Dream of Liang Lu, every time in Tomb-Sweeping Day, "officials go out to the tombs of the suburbs to show respect for the time." The number of grave sweepers is not limited to men and women, and they often go out with their families. In this way, grave-sweeping activities around Tomb-Sweeping Day often become the personal participation of the whole society. Within a few days, the country people came and went, and the scale was extremely prosperous.

Tomb-Sweeping Day visited the grave.

As a Ghost Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day mainly worships ancestors and deceased relatives, expressing the worshippers' filial piety and feelings of missing the deceased. Tomb-Sweeping Day belongs to Ghost Festival, but it is usually not named Ghost Festival, because it mainly worships good ghosts, family ghosts, or the dead souls of loved ones, and focuses on expressing filial piety and affection. In the other two Halloween festivals, even evil spirits and wild ghosts sacrifice together, and the key point is to appease ghosts and prevent them from doing anything. But we can't generalize. Some places also have the custom of Tomb-Sweeping Day offering sacrifices to other ghosts and gods. According to the old custom in Shanghai, there is a ritual of offering sacrifices to ghosts in Tomb-Sweeping Day to prevent them from becoming evil spirits. This kind of altar is called sacrificial altar. In old Shanghai and Tomb-Sweeping Day, the day before yesterday, the city god was ushered in. On this day in Tomb-Sweeping Day, the God of the Town God cruised to worship the platform in a big sedan chair to get rid of ghosts and ghosts. The scene was very grand and lively.

There are differences around Tomb-Sweeping Day. In the past, Beijingers paid homage to sweep graves not in Tomb-Sweeping Day, but on Singles Day near Tomb-Sweeping Day. Only monks offer sacrifices to sweep graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day. In Lishui, Zhejiang, grave-sweeping takes place in the first three days and the last four days in Tomb-Sweeping Day, which is called "the first three days and the last four days". In Shandong, in the old days, most areas visited graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day, a few areas such as Zhucheng visited graves during the Cold Food Festival, and some places visited graves in the first four days of Tomb-Sweeping Day. Nowadays, people usually visit graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day. People in southern Shanxi divide the time for sweeping graves into two times. On one occasion, a few days ago in Tomb-Sweeping Day, my family went to visit the grave separately. The second time was in Tomb-Sweeping Day, where representatives of families with the same surname in a village went to the cemetery to worship their ancestors. Shanghai people sweep graves, and the new graves are different from the old ones. People who have recently passed away, who haven't done the ceremony of turning over after 7749 days, should ask monks and nuns to chant Buddhist scriptures or do Dojo in Tomb-Sweeping Day on this day. If it's an old grave, it's unnecessary for Tomb-Sweeping Day to sweep the grave, but it can be relaxed before and after, but it can't go beyond the first seven days and the last eight days. As the saying goes, "the first seven days, the last eight days, the ghost holiday." This means that it will fail too early or too late.

According to the different places of sacrifice, Tomb-Sweeping Day can be divided into tomb sacrifice and ancestral temple sacrifice. Tomb sacrifice is the most common. Tomb-Sweeping Day is characterized by tomb sacrifices. When offering sacrifices in the cemetery, the worshippers are closest to the objects of sacrifice, which is easy to cause a sense of closeness, so that the living can better express and pin their filial piety and affection for the deceased. Tomb-Sweeping Day is called grave-sweeping, mainly because of the way of grave-sweeping. Another form is ancestral temple sacrifice, also called temple fair sacrifice, which means that people of a clan gather in the ancestral temple to worship their ancestors first, and then have a meeting and dinner after the sacrifice. This kind of sacrifice is a way of ethnic reunion. Another situation is that people who work in other places can't rush back to their hometown to sweep their graves, so they sacrifice to their hometown in the mountains or high places.

The ways or items of sacrifice in Tomb-Sweeping Day vary from place to place. The common practice includes two parts: one is to renovate the tomb, and the other is to hang paper money to offer sacrifices.

When sweeping the grave, the grave should be renovated first, mainly to remove weeds and cultivate new soil. On the one hand, this behavior can express the filial piety and care for the dead. On the other hand, in the belief of the ancients, the graves of ancestors have a great relationship with the rise and fall of future generations, so tomb repair is a commemorative content that cannot be ignored. "Qing thomas lee" explains the reason for the name of "sweeping the grave": "On New Year's Eve, the cold food and the first frost festival are used to worship the grave, and the vegetarian food is used to serve the bed, the vegetation is cut with wine, and the trees are closed and Cao Jing is broken at weekends, so it is called sweeping the grave."

In the past, due to the ban on cold and fire, paper money was not burned, but hung on small trees and bamboo poles in cemeteries, or pressed on graves with stones and cliffs. Song Yu's "Chicken Ribs" volume: "Cold food is buried, and there is no fragrance. Paper money hangs on the tree. People who go to the countryside climb mountains to watch sacrifices. Tearing in the air is called breaking money. " In this way, all the graves that have been swept by the sacrifices have paper banners flying, which constitutes a unique landscape before and after Qingming. Those without paper money are generally solitary graves lacking heirs. Later, generally no longer pay attention to banning fire, only burning paper money. In the old days, the main form of ancestor worship in Tomb-Sweeping Day was "burning a load". The so-called "baggage" is the package that worshippers give the world of Yang to the "underworld". In the past, Nanzhi store sold the so-called "wrapped skin", that is, big bags made of white paper. There are two styles of this pocket: one is patterned, with a Sanskrit transliteration of "Death Curse" printed on the woodcut, and a lotus tablet printed in the middle, with the names of the deceased written on it, such as "The late Zhang Fujun was afraid of Yunshan" and so on. The other is plain leather, which does not have any patterns printed on it, but only sticks a blue sign in the middle and writes down the name of the deceased. There are all kinds of money in the bag. The sacrifices are mainly food, and the varieties vary from place to place. They are all foods that locals think can be taken out according to the economic ability of sacrifice, or they are seasonal specialties. [ 19]

Local differences

Hainan

Hainanese also have a folk tradition of reciting ancestral teachings and family rules when they worship their ancestors in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Fu Cechao, president of Hainan Intangible Culture Research Association, said that the Han people in Hainan are all mainland immigrants. Before the Tang Dynasty, about 20,000 Han people moved to Hainan, and in the Song Dynasty, about 654.38+10,000 people moved to Hainan, which surged to more than 2 million in the Qing Dynasty. Jin Qiong has more than 100 surnames, and roes's ancestors have about 300 people. In order to commemorate this ancestor who entered Qiong, later generations built' ancestral temples' in various places, and most of them held sacrificial activities on the occasion of Qingming. In these sacrificial activities, there are often eight-tone accompaniment, chanting and eulogizing the merits of Joan's father.

"In the process of folk sacrifice, we must recite the norms of our ancestors, and these sacrifices, the training of our ancestors and the rules of the clan are all wonderful songs." Fu Ce-chao recited several three-character classics of Fu's family instructions to reporters, "Love the motherland, be filial to parents, be friends and brothers, be husband and wife, be loyal to relatives, stress unity, be good to neighbors, be cautious in making friends ..." Today, these ancestral songs still have educational significance.

When Hainan people sweep graves, they will offer pigs, geese, fish and cakes to burn incense and turn waste into treasure. There are also residents with the same surname who drive pigs and pull sheep to sacrifice on their ancestral graves, praying for the prosperity of future generations. There are two kinds of ancestor worship in Tomb-Sweeping Day. First, sacrifice your ancestors. Take one or several households as a unit, and put "three sacrifices", dry rice and other sacrifices in front of the ancestral tablets at home. Everyone bows. Later, it was a sacrifice to "ancestors", with dozens or hundreds of households as the unit, and all clans with the same surname participated. Take the prepared sacrifices to the ancestors' graves to worship, remove weeds and add new soil.

Shanxi

Shanxi old folk song "Qingming drizzle makes people sad, wild flowers bloom in the desert (indigenous fans), and shovels are carried on the shoulders with sacrifices, all of which come to the grave first", which vividly summarizes people's mood and the characteristics of sweeping graves. In spring, people repair houses to prevent rainwater from leaking in summer. When the living are associated with the dead, graves in the fields often collapse after the storm. The biggest feature of going to the grave on Qingming Festival is to eradicate weeds in the grave and raise the grave with new soil, which is customarily called repairing the yin house, showing the grief of children and grandchildren for their ancestors.

In the south of Shanxi, both rich and poor, men and women come to visit graves, indicating that future generations are missing their ancestors. In the northern region, it is mostly men's business to sweep graves, while women generally don't. In Datong, Pingyao and other places, it is one evening, and old-fashioned women will burst into tears outside the gate. "There was a cry in the village, which was sad when it was introduced." In most places in southern Shanxi, people don't burn incense or paper when they go to the grave, and money and things like that should be hung in front of the grave. There is a saying that "the Qingming Festival goes up to the river and the picture is white". The reason is that the Cold Food Festival is used to banning fire, and Tomb-Sweeping Day is during the Cold Food Festival. Most places in northern Shanxi have to burn all the money and other things on the grounds that they will not be transferred to their ancestors unless they are burned. Datong and other places are used to going to the grave during the day and burning money at home at night.

In Hequ and other places in northwest Shanxi, it is an old custom to bring wine and vegetables to the grave and then eat and drink in front of the grave, which means drinking and eating with ancestors. In Wenxi and other places in the south of Shanxi, jujube cakes are used to roll in front of the grave when going to the grave. Legend has it that it is to tickle the dead old man. In Jinzhong Jiexiu and other places, when going to the grave, the offering is a cake shaped like a snake. When you get home, put the bread in the yard and dry it before eating. The old people pay attention to treating diseases, the source of which is that cold food is forbidden to fire.

After going to the grave in southern Shanxi, you should pull out some wheat seedlings and insert pine branches, cypress leaves or wicker on the door to ward off evil spirits. There are many willow cuttings in the north of Shanxi. Elsewhere, some wicker was inserted in the grave.

In Tomb-Sweeping Day, people in the south of Shanxi want to steam steamed buns with walnuts, red dates and beans, which is called Zifu. With the blessings of sons and grandchildren, they all bring the blessings of their ancestors. Every family should make bean jelly, cut it into thin slices and eat it with soup. Shovel withered grass and rub it on the kang mat, which is called driving scorpions away. In the southeast of Shanxi, people have willow branches and dead leaves on their heads. Women should stick gold ornaments (headdresses) on their temples. In northern Shanxi, it is customary to have black bean sprouts, which are eaten with corn bread and black bean sprouts stuffing. Northwest Shanxi pays attention to making cakes with millet flour, commonly known as "spreading Huang Er", and Luliang area will receive a female husband the day after Tomb-Sweeping Day, commonly known as "fresh fire". [20]

Tomb-Sweeping Day, Hequ County, uses millet flour to make cakes, which is called "Sa Huang Er". In Shouyang County, Tomb-Sweeping Day, both boys and girls wear paper-cuts on their heads. It is said that this is the legacy of ancient "color victory". Yicheng citizens pre-cooked black flour jelly, sliced it in Qingming and served it with soup. Stop all sewing at Qingming Festival. It is said that anyone who works with a needle and thread will become blind on this day. Tomb-Sweeping Day, a child in Pinglu County, prayed for a long life with the ears of wheat on his head.

Taiwan Province Province, China

China is a vast country with different climates in the north and south, so Tomb-Sweeping Day also varies from place to place, from the second day of February to the third day of March. Tomb-Sweeping Day, Taiwan Province Province, is the105th day from the winter solstice of the previous year, and Tomb-Sweeping Day, a native of Zhangzhou, Taiwan Province Province, is on the third day of the third lunar month. The customs in Tomb-Sweeping Day, Taiwan Province Province are similar to those in southern Fujian. The time for the Hakka people in Taiwan Province Province to worship their ancestors and sweep graves begins after the Lantern Festival, and the date is decided by each family until the Qingming Festival.

In the rural areas of Taiwan Province Province, a group of children came to beg for money after each grave-sweeping. The more people come, the more developed the family will be in the future, and the owners will be willing to give money or money to those children.

Later, due to the decrease of cemeteries in Taiwan Province Province, an urn was implemented. Many people put the urn on the urn tower and go to the urn tower to worship whenever they go to Tomb-Sweeping Day, which also plays the role of ancestor worship. Due to the gradual change of people's concept, the ceremony of sweeping graves has also been omitted.

The custom of people sweeping graves in Taiwan Province Province can be roughly divided into two types: one is general grave sweeping, and the rituals and sacrifices are relatively simple, and most of them are just rice cakes, cakes and cakes; The second is to repair the ancestral graves, and the sacrifices are also quite grand. Sacrifice generally includes all kinds of sacrifices, twelve kinds of vegetables, cakes and so on. When sweeping the grave, you must stick "tomb paper" around the grave (cut into rectangles with five-color paper). There are small stones on every piece of paper, and a pile must be placed on the tombstone. This ceremony, commonly known as "hanging paper", is money for ancestors. If it is to repair the tomb, that is, to repair the ancestral grave, the whole family gathers in front of the grave to eat red eggs, and the eggshells are scattered on the cemetery, which contains the auspicious meaning of metabolism and endless life. While sweeping graves, we should also pay homage to the landlords (with small stone tablets) who have stood by for a long time guarding the cemetery and resting their ancestors. On the one hand, it is a kind of comfort, but also means gratitude. There is also a special custom in Taiwan Province Province. If there is a happy event at home this year, you should renovate the grave when you sweep it, put a small red light (oil lamp) in front of the grave and take it home when you go home. It is said that it can attract more happiness and auspiciousness.

Jiangsu Province

Farmers in Taizhou, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Jiangsu Province used to hold a boat race in Tomb-Sweeping Day, which was called "supporting the boat". Zhenjiang people use seven willow leaves to make tea, which is said to improve eyesight. The villagers near Lushan Mountain in Dantu County still retain the old customs of "looking at cotton" and "Mianshan". On the day when Fang Maoshan in Wujin County took Qingming as the incarnation of the dragon mother, the villagers rushed to pray for blessings.

Shanghai

In Shanghai, Tomb-Sweeping Day used to eat peach porridge and purple bamboo shoots tea, and there was a sacrificial platform to welcome the city gods to patrol the city.

Anhui province

Huizhou Prefecture makes wine in Qingming Taoxin Spring. In Guichi County, Tomb-Sweeping Day, women make cocoons to offer sacrifices to silkworms and pray for a good harvest. Jingxian County called Tomb-Sweeping Day the "Willow Festival". It is called "wild ghost" when the birthday is clear and the family inserts willows and hangs paper money on the grave tree.

Zhejiang Province

On Qingming night in Haining county, silkworm families will wrap their eggs under cotton-padded clothes when they sleep. It is said that silkworm eggs are easy to reproduce when they are popular. Eating green snails on Qingming night in Jiaxing County is called "picking green snails". There is a dragon boat performance in Qingming, Haiyan County. There is a clear willow in Taizhou Prefecture, named nine niang Quxiang. Shaoxing people should prepare some candies and biscuits when they go to the grave, which are called "fruit of going to the grave" and give them to children living near the ancestral grave.

Zhoushan people go to the grave to worship their ancestors. When paying homage, out of respect for ancestors, people cut weeds, trim the wood and move the soil to cultivate graves, so it is called sweeping graves. Then light incense, candles, and offerings such as snails, green cakes, striped cakes and plates. Old-fashioned parents lead the whole family to kneel and kowtow, while new-style parents bow and salute. After the ceremony, bamboo sticks were inserted at the top of the grave, paper money and money were burned, and "hemp money" (which is a green cake with a round shape and a diamond shape) was distributed to the children watching the grave. After going to the grave, I have to make "Qingming soup rice" when I go home. [4]

Shandong (province)

Zhaoyuan, Jimo, Linqu, Linqing and other places should add new soil to the grave when sweeping the grave in Qingming. according to

By the river during Tomb-Sweeping Day.

It is said that this is to repair the house for ancestors to avoid leaking rain in summer. In Weihai, Qixia, Huangxian and other places, the whole people eat steamed bread and dishes after the ancestral graves, which is called "room food" or "water club". The custom of "cockfighting" in the Southern and Northern Dynasties has also been preserved in northern Shandong. On this day, children in Bin County support each other with boiled eggs. Whoever breaks the egg first loses. Qishan, Boshan and other places cook a pot of millet dry rice in Tomb-Sweeping Day to let the cows have a full meal, which is called "rice cow". There is a proverb: "If you beat a thousand and scold a thousand, a meal will be clear.".

Hunan

Changsha's "Qingming inserting willows" is called "reminiscing about the past". Tomb-Sweeping Day, Yongzhou Prefecture, draws water in the early morning and remains unchanged for several months, which is especially good for brewing wine. Xintian county agricultural proverb: "Qingming, everything is done."

Shanxi province

Xingping county is clear that in-laws give each other paper money and worship each other's graves. Every household in Fuping County invited the famous mountain springs to source water in Tomb-Sweeping Day, and * * * gave gifts to a god. It is called "swimming" to prepare sacrifices to pray for a bumper harvest. After the Qingming Festival in Tongzhou County, willow branches were inserted into the door; And put paper money on the trunk, which is said to prevent insects and ants. Luochuan county steamed buns for food, and the buns were decorated in the shape of birds and snakes. It is said that meson was protected by birds and snakes when it was pushed to Mianshan, so it was kept as a souvenir.

Sichuan Province

In Chongqing, Wanxian and other places in eastern Sichuan, there was a custom of "going to the wild grave" in the old society. Before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, three or two women went to the suburbs for a picnic with wine and vegetables. Men, whether they know each other or not, can join in the fun. In Shifang and other places, women dip shepherd's purse flowers in oil and throw them into the water, depending on the pattern of the water surface, which is called "oil divination". In Chengdu, fried rice balls are sold, decorated with colors and connected with lines, which are called "Happy Groups".

Guangxi

Tomb-Sweeping Day, a villager in Hengzhou, soaked willow leaves and snails in water to wash his eyes, which is said to brighten his eyes. After sweeping the grave in Xingren County, a long banner made of white paper is hung on the tomb head, which is called "marking the grave" and "hanging the green". When sweeping graves in Kaiyang County, the chief priests on duty prepare wine and food as sacrifices. After the sacrifice, relatives and friends will hold a banquet nearby, which is called a "picnic".

Jiangxi

Qingming Festival in Xinjian County, taking spring cakes as an example. Tomb-sweeping in Yongfeng County lasts three days, and then seven days. In addition to sacrificial ceremonies, rice flour is also used as fruit, called cocoon fruit, or glutinous rice is pressed into cakes and poured with sugar juice, called rice fruit, which still has the legacy of cold food. In Anyi County, Tomb-Sweeping Day is only held by men, and women do not participate.

Guangdong

Ruyuan County called the first ten days of Tomb-Sweeping Day "windless days", and all the residents in the county wore peach leaves on their heads. Tomb-Sweeping Day, Puyang County, after sweeping the grave, issued a memorial ceremony, that is, the priest presided over the ceremony, and the grave sweeper cooked the sacrifice and invited him to eat it. Grave-sweeping is called "worshipping the mountain" in Guang Ningxian.

Fujian Province

In Tomb-Sweeping Day, Fuzhou, tourists in the eastern suburbs are very busy, and most of them pick up wild vegetables and cook them, which is called cooking. Hui' an people sacrifice to sweep.

Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival (12)

Fly a kite and play the flute at the grave. Quanzhou Qingming eats "wet cakes" and makes "feet and eyes", which is a spherical snack. It is said that Tomb-Sweeping Day can increase his strength by eating his feet. /kloc-Children under 0/0 also put up colorful flags in Tomb-Sweeping Day for fun. In Tomb-Sweeping Day, Taiwan Province Province, people in Zhangzhou used to sweep graves on March 3rd (commonly known as dog days), while people in Quanzhou used to sweep graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day. There is a saying about the difference of this day: Zhang Quan people and Zhang Quanren often have disputes and fight with each other for buying food in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Therefore, after mediation by the government, it is stipulated that Zhangzhou people will sweep graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day on the third day, and Quanzhou people will sweep graves. [2 1]

Hebei Province

Hebei pays attention to "Qingming in the early morning and 11th in the evening (Lunar Ghost Festival)". A week before Qingming Festival, people began to sweep graves and burn paper. Few people in Tomb-Sweeping Day went to sweep graves. Southern Hebei chose to sweep graves at the Cold Food Festival the day before in Tomb-Sweeping Day. All the men and women in the city go out for an outing, see flowers, pick vegetables and make willows. There is a proverb: "Qingming does not wear willow, beauty becomes the head." . [22]

Dong 'an county knows all about flowers. Five or seven days before the festival, someone offered sacrifices to sweep the graves, and Tomb-Sweeping Day offered sacrifices to sweep the ancestors in his class that day. Yongping House takes the day before cold food as maggot day to make acyl sauce. The government offered sacrifices to the altar. Tomb-Sweeping Day, Yuanshi County, also known as the Flower Festival, people buy flowers and hold banquets to invite guests. [2 1]

Henan Province

Gongxian Qingming, son-in-law also offered sacrifices to the ancestral graves of Yue family. People offer sacrifices to young crops, ox king and Hongshan God. In Mengjin County, during the Qingming Festival, seedlings are being planted in the wheat field. [2 1]

Hong Kong

Tomb-Sweeping Day is an important festival in Hongkong. Hong Kong people will go to the graves of their ancestors to burn incense and light incense. Sacrifices are mostly fruits, flowers, roast pigs or boiled chickens. In order to avoid overcrowding, Hong Kong people often offer sacrifices to the mountains several weeks in advance, but they don't necessarily follow the tradition of sweeping graves to worship their ancestors in Tomb-Sweeping Day.

As early as the British Hong Kong period, even after China's civil war ended and China came to power, the border between China and Hong Kong was heavily guarded, but the Sha Tau Kok restricted area on the border between China and Hong Kong was limited to open every time in Tomb-Sweeping Day, and people would go to the Sha Ling cemetery to worship; From 1950 to 1970, China still hasn't implemented the policy of reform and opening up. Many people will go home in Tomb-Sweeping Day under the pretext of ancestor worship. Everyone wears multi-layered clothes and carries an unusually large number of daily necessities to help relatives and friends in the countryside. There will also be a rush to buy train tickets from Guangdong and Hong Kong, as well as speculation in scalper tickets.

Indonesian Chinese

Chinese living in Indonesia have been continuing the custom of ancestor worship and grave sweeping in Tomb-Sweeping Day. "Filial piety is the first of all virtues". In the values of China society, "filial piety" ranks first, and sweeping graves to worship ancestors is a manifestation of filial piety.

The week before Tomb-Sweeping Day, Indonesian Chinese began to buy paper money, candles, flower baskets and modern sacrifices such as "gold bars" and "mobile phones". People who go to other places to sweep graves have already booked air tickets and boat tickets in advance. Indonesian Chinese think Tomb-Sweeping Day is very meaningful. During this period, it is not only a time to pay homage to ancestors and honor their merits, but also a time for brothers and sisters to reunite. Tomb-Sweeping Day customs should be handed down from generation to generation, especially in modern society.

Most people in China worship their ancestors in the ancestral hall of Baijia surname. As each surname has its own ancestral temple, people gather in the hall to worship their ancestors. Clan relatives usually have lunch after ancestor worship and are friendly to each other. Some also take this opportunity to award scholarships to the children of clansmen who have studied well, which embodies the traditional virtues of China people, such as being cautious in pursuing the future, remembering the merits of their ancestors, and encouraging their younger generations to study hard and make great efforts. During my stay in Tomb-Sweeping Day, teachers and students gathered in some places to deepen friendship. More families in China go to cemeteries to sweep graves, or go to temples to burn incense and pray.

Singaporean Chinese

Every weekend from late March to early April, there will always be a continuous "car queue" and a bustling crowd on the road leading to cemeteries, urns and temples in the suburbs of Singapore. Chinese Singaporeans, like Chinese descendants in other parts of the world, will never forget to pay homage to their ancestors in Tomb-Sweeping Day, and "remember their ancestors with caution".

Chinese Singaporeans still follow traditional rituals to sweep graves. During their stay in Tomb-Sweeping Day, Chinese Singaporeans will travel with their families, put wine, food, fruits and flowers on the graves of their relatives, light incense sticks, burn paper money, kowtow, and finally eat wine and food and go home.

Returning to China to search for ancestors and worship ancestors is an upward trend of Chinese in Singapore in the past 20 years. Before Tomb-Sweeping Day, Singaporean Chinese often asked each other in their hometown dialect when they met: "Is it clear to go home?" There is only one reason to go back to China ancestral home to visit the grave: you can't forget your ancestors.

Some people in China said that they can't accept the popular "online worship" method, and if conditions permit, they must kowtow to their ancestors' graves in person. Even young Singaporean Chinese educated in the West dare not ignore Tomb-Sweeping Day, because ancestor worship and ancestor worship are China traditions that have been circulating for thousands of years.

Chinese American

During his stay in Tomb-Sweeping Day, the Chinese History Society of Southern California held an annual event to commemorate Chinese ancestors, calling on Chinese people not to forget their contributions in opening up territory in California. The local people in China hold the annual commemoration of Tomb-Sweeping Day in different ways.

The different experiences of Chinese in new york determine their different ways of offering sacrifices to sweep in Tomb-Sweeping Day. On this day, many traditional overseas Chinese delegations have published advertisements for the Spring Festival in newspapers and posted notices in clubs to organize members to pay homage to the graves where their ancestors were buried. Grave-sweeping in Tomb-Sweeping Day has become a social occasion for China people to connect their feelings and increase their contacts. After the 1970s, new immigrants in the United States often expressed their thoughts about their ancestors to their relatives and friends in their old countries by letters and telephone calls.

Although Chinese Americans are far away from their homeland, many people believe that while accepting the mainstream American social culture, we should not forget the traditional festivals in China. Yan Fang, a Chinese, pointed out that commemorating the traditional festivals in China will help to promote the virtues of the Chinese nation and enhance the exchange and unity of overseas Chinese. [23]