Why do people keep vigil after death?

Time is impermanent, everyone will die, and life is only between breaths. I often see people vigil for their dead relatives, and often say don't let cats and dogs near. So what are the taboos during the vigil? The following small series will answer for everyone!

Why do people keep vigil after death?

Vigilance after death is a folk custom, just like the ancient bride had to share the lucky money in a sedan chair during the New Year. This is a memorial of the living to their dead relatives.

Reason:

1, because the living think that although his relatives are dead, his soul is still on earth, and he has not gone to the underworld (the underworld is our paradise in China, where people will go after death). The soul is also very attached to its living relatives. It doesn't want to go so far away from the underworld alone, so it will go back to its original home to have a look before going to the underworld.

2. Living people are afraid that their souls will get lost on the way home, so they will light a lamp and put it next to the bodies of dead people (and then explain that ancient people will put the bodies of dead relatives in the living room at home, not the morgue of funeral homes; There is also the problem that ancient people lit oil lamps instead of electric lights. The living are afraid that the lights will go out and the dead relatives will not find their homes, so they sit in the room where the bodies are parked all night to ensure that the street lights are always on. Be vigilant for seven days.

The origin of posthumous vigil

A vigil after death is also called a wake. The ancients believed that people should go home to visit within three days after death, so their children waited in the mourning hall until his soul returned. Every night, relatives and friends accompanied him until the body was buried in the coffin. Up to now, the wake is a gathering of relatives to mourn the dead and express their feelings of remembrance.

The source of the first moment surprise

After death, the body should stay at home for a period of time, which is called "stopping the spirit". At night, I am guarded by my family to show filial piety. Surprise at the First Moment Volume XIII: "Neither daughter-in-law has a wake." Shen Congwen's Border Town 20: "The remaining few people are required to spend the night in front of the coffin."

Book of rites? The origin of mourning

The wake is basically limited to three days. Some people stay in the mourning shed and mourning hall in the house, and some rent the auditorium of the funeral parlour for vigil. There is also a move to "shelve the Three Dynasties" in suburban counties. Book of rites? There are "people who died in three days" asking for a funeral in order to give birth to them. I won't live for three days. Filial piety also benefits and declines. Family planning and clothes have become a thing of the past. Relatives from far away can also come. Therefore, the sage made a decision for it and took three days as the ritual system. "So, the three-night wake is not entirely out of superstition, but three days, everything is ready, and relatives and friends from afar can also arrive, which is enough to do human kindness.

The legend of vigil after death

I am a person who doesn't believe in superstition, but many things always make us believe.

I remember many years ago, when my grandmother was still here, she told me something. A person died in the village, because the body will be kept at home for three days, so relatives will watch there. From the night when the body was laid out, a bird with the same color as the dead man's clothes and feathers was found in the window, and it stopped motionless. It is said that the room is closed. Then until the third day, I didn't know how the bird disappeared.

Not long ago, my second uncle passed away, and a butterfly flew into the vigil, nailed to the red cloth covering my second uncle's ashes, motionless, and refused to come down after driving him away, so I couldn't shake it. Later, I went into the coffin, flew to the ceiling, nailed it and disappeared.

There were many such things later, especially this butterfly. I want to know, are these their metaplasia? Is there really a soul after death?

What are the taboos during the vigil?

What is filial piety? Wake refers to the time from the death of ancestors to cremation and burial, and the time spent with descendants and lineal blood relatives is also called wake. Filial piety is the period from the burial of ancestors to the third anniversary of their death, also called filial piety.

1. During the wake, pregnant women, parturients and abortionists are not allowed to enter the mourning hall, and even the lineal blood relatives of ancestors need to avoid it. If you really can't avoid it, you have to leave. Pregnant women, parturients and abortionists must wear clothes with more than five colors in order to pay homage to the funeral.

2. During the wake, if there are lineal blood relatives of descendants who have not been married for 100 days, the newlyweds must bring red, white and filial piety cloth to avoid happy events. As a result, not only the ancestors failed to travel westward smoothly, but also the descendants were affected by exhalation.

3. During the wake, if the ancestors' bodies smell bad, they should be dealt with immediately, and it is forbidden to say disgusting words. Otherwise, no matter how it is handled, the odor will not be reduced, but will be greatly enhanced.

4. During the wake, be dignified and don't wear jewelry. Men should not wear trousers, women should not wear skirts, long hair and heavy makeup. Especially don't wear slippers and show your toes. Be patient even in summer.

5, when the wake, don't gossip, especially future generations can't quarrel in the shed for the funeral of their ancestors. Even if future generations have great grievances, it is not too late to let the ancestors walk the last stop of their lives with dignity and then solve them.

6. During the wake, men and women should not commit fornication in the mourning shed, and there should be no fornication in the mourning shed, mourning hall and filial piety room, otherwise the light one will be unlucky, the heavy one will die and the lotus will wither.

7. At the wake, if there are timid people, you might as well not go. This is the best way to avoid it. If you are frightened during the wake, it is the most difficult to collect your soul and the most difficult to recover.

8. In the period of filial piety, it would be better if the ancestors reported their dreams and explained some things to future generations, and understood them according to their wishes. Never fool the dead, lest you get stuck in filial piety and be plagued by bad luck.

9. During mourning, ancestors should worship properly on every anniversary and never forget it. If you forget, you should contact a trusted Tangkou master to help solve it. In particular, seven "seven-day sacrifices" and "one-hundred-day sacrifices" cannot be forgotten.

10, filial piety 100 days, both men and women can marry late; After 100 days, it is forbidden to get married on the third anniversary. Filial piety/kloc-within 0/00 days, if a newborn is born at home, it is necessary to worship the ancestors, tell the truth, avoid filial piety and put pressure on the newcomers.

As a traditional custom, mourning for the dead expresses the ultimate concern for life and the infinite yearning for the deceased relatives. This kind of behavior itself expresses respect for life and nostalgia for the deceased, and it is a kind of sustenance for one's grief when facing the reality of the death of a loved one. These precautions are respect for the deceased under grief and missing, and they are heartfelt prayers.