Qingming is not only a solar term, but also a holiday, and a time to worship the deceased ancestors.
Since it is a sacrifice, it is natural that offerings are indispensable. Common offerings are apples, bananas, oranges, liquor. Some people also prepare the best pork belly.
However, after the ritual is over, there are different customs on how to dispose of the offerings.
In my hometown, offerings are disposed of haphazardly. If you don't think it's troublesome, you can leave it at the grave of your ancestors, so that they can completely integrate into the vast land over time and become the best nutrients to nourish the ancestral cemetery.
You can also take it all home and taste it, and most people choose this way. According to the old man, this is the best reward from the ancestors to the next generation. Eat it, and good luck will always accompany you.
A few days ago, a 6-year-old boy followed his father to sweep his grandfather's grave. Afterwards, with his father's permission, the little boy made an offering at his grandfather's grave.
When the news broke, netizens exploded. Many people think that the little boy is "rebellious" and even eats the food that was originally his grandfather. There are also people who accuse the boy's father of being very poor in disciplining the child on weekdays.
Of course, it is also said that the role of offerings is a ritual, and once they have fulfilled their proper "mission", it is better to be eaten than to waste them wantonly.
Even the boy's father was honest about the fact that in the local area, the offerings brought with him during the tomb visit were edible after the worship was completed. He himself ate it when he was a child.
Don't say it's him, it's even me, who is middle-aged, and I still ate offerings when I was a child.
At that time, the family was relatively poor, and it was very content to be able to fill the stomach, and as for fruits and meat, if it was not for the New Year's holidays, it was a rare luxury.
My grandmother died relatively early, and my mother was very sad and missed. Every Qingming Festival and Midyear Festival, she will go to the grave far away in the countryside to worship. Sometimes, I go along.
At this point, my mother became more generous and went to the market to buy a few apples and oranges. With the improvement of economic conditions, a small piece of meat will be purchased.
Of course, when the sacrifice has not begun, the offerings must not be eaten at will. In that case, it would be equivalent to giving the leftover scraps to the ancestors, which would be a great disrespect to the ancestors. Very undesirable.
However, when I was young, I could not understand the reason, and I was always thinking of ways to steal food. As a result, my attentive mother found out and beat me up on the spot.
Today, it is not surprising that even big fish and meat have already entered thousands of households, not to mention different fruits. People's demand for food is no longer the same as in the past, when they only satisfied their hunger.
When I went to my father's grave, I found that there were many graves with a lot of fresh fruit in front of them, but the worshippers were already on their way home. I don't know what to do with it in the end.
As the old saying goes, three miles are different winds, and ten miles are different customs. Therefore, there is no need to make a fuss about the children's tribute, let alone wield the big stick of morality.
After all, each place has its own unique cultural background and historical heritage. Instead, we should embrace this phenomenon with a broad mind.
In any case, the Qingming sacrifice is still to express sorrow and heart. If you are grateful, a flower and a grass, a leaf and a tree are enough. It's just a formality, but it's really a joke. (Text/Sun Xinhe)