What should I do during mourning?

In ancient times, after the deceased was buried, the dutiful son should set up a memorial tablet at home and hold sacrificial activities on time according to the memorial "list" listed by Mr. Yin and Yang. A "schedule" should be posted in front of the mourning hall, and family members should follow the schedule without any negligence, otherwise it would be disrespectful to the deceased. Next, let's talk about what memorial ceremonies the ancients made during the three-year mourning period.

1. Burning Seven: Burning Seven means that every seven days is a memorial day, which is called "the first seven days, the last seven days, the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh periods" by the people. As for the cause of burning seven, there is a folk saying: it is said that people have three souls and seven spirits, and they lose one spirit seven days after death, one spirit a year and seven spirits are exhausted. Therefore, after death, people have to pass the "May 7th" and "Third Anniversary".

Burning seven is also very delicate. During the seventh festival, the ancients hung white lanterns at the gate to show filial piety at home. The first seven of the deceased usually neutral memorial tablets at home, burning incense and candles, and setting up wine to pay homage. The remaining "June 7th" is to place offerings in the cemetery and burn paper money.

The seven-burning ceremony is more grand, with one, three, five and seven ceremonies. At seven o'clock, relatives and friends will go to the funeral home to mourn, and the dutiful son will cry at the grave. Two, four, six double sevens pay homage, relatives and friends generally don't come, and the dutiful son can only burn paper without crying, so the folks also call it "double sevens" and "empty sevens".

March 7th and Last 7th are the most important festivals. In these two festivals, relatives and friends will burn paper in the cemetery, and it is difficult for the dutiful son to show his reluctance and attachment to the deceased. "The last seven" is also called "the last seven". If you lose your family, you have to chant Buddhist scriptures, and relatives and friends have to burn paper and incense for them.

Second, burn for a hundred days: "Hundred days" is also called "over a hundred days". Now it is commonly known as over a hundred days, that is, the deceased will sacrifice for a hundred days. Relatives who burn for a hundred days generally don't come, but relatives and direct descendants of the deceased will come to pay homage, such as nephews, nephews and married women.

One hundred days also has a lot of attention. For example, the dutiful son doesn't entertain guests, stop by, shave his head, take a shower or change clothes for a hundred days. This is called "one hundred days of mourning". After a hundred days of the deceased, these taboos can be cancelled and mourning clothes can be taken off one by one. In addition to wearing white Dai Xiao on important sacrificial days (such as catching up with Qingming, July 15, 10/0/day, etc.). ), dutiful sons can only wear white shoes on weekdays, male dutiful sons can tie white cloth on their hats as soon as possible, and female dutiful sons can tie white ropes as soon as possible.

Third, the anniversary of burning: three years after the death of parents, children can't get married or wear gorgeous clothes for three years. During the Spring Festival, only green paper or yellow paper couplets or no couplets are posted on Sang Men, and the words posted on the couplets should be written in white pigment. Every New Year's Eve and bereavement, we will go to the cemetery or the coffin to pay homage. Every season, when the new grain comes down, we should bring some cooked food back first, so that the deceased relatives can "taste the new food" in front of the coffin.

The first anniversary of the death of the deceased is called "the first anniversary", which is also called "the anniversary of death" by the people. Most anniversary ceremonies are more grand than "burning for seven days" and "burning for a hundred days". On the day of "Death Day", the dutiful son wears a white Dai Xiao, makes sacrifices at home first, and then goes to the cemetery to burn paper money, which is also called "anniversary burning" or "Xiaoxiang" among the people. The second anniversary is the second anniversary of the death of the deceased. On the second anniversary, the dutiful son can only burn paper, but can't hold a crying sacrifice, which is called "dumb anniversary" or "auspicious" by the people.

The third anniversary is "Tan Sacrifice" and the third anniversary is called "Waifu". The third anniversary of the deceased is extremely grand, and friends and relatives will come, and the sacrifices are roughly the same as when buried. Rich families in ancient times asked trumpeters and Taoist priests to erect tombstones and give "three gifts". The dutiful son sticks white paper couplets at home in the morning and red paper couplets before lunch.

Wearing a white Dai Xiao, the dutiful son went to the grave to burn paper to pay homage. After the sacrifice, he took off his mourning clothes and put on his secret clothes on the spot. He put the changed mourning clothes on the fire, returned to the door and threw them into the yard from the wall in order to "bring happiness." Banquet during the day, decorate at night, please sing the local drama of your own music class.

Since then, the dutiful son has resumed his normal life, and the deceased no longer enjoys special sacrifices. No other mourning activities will be held except the annual sacrifice and grave sweeping.