Xie Xiao is a custom of Han chinese funerals, that is, after the funeral of the deceased, the filial piety will go to the home of relatives and friends who come to mourn to prostrate their heads and thank them for coming to the funeral of the deceased in their busy schedules.
As the saying goes, "Ten miles of different winds, a hundred miles of different customs", the time and ceremony of Xie Xiao will be different in different regions, there are places where Xie Xiaoxiao is held the day after the funeral, and in some places where Xie Xiaoxiao is three days after the funeral is over.
No matter how the time is arranged, its purpose is only one, that is, to thank the relatives and friends who came to mourn. Next, Xiaobian will talk about the customs of Xie Filial Piety in rural funerals.
【The Origin of Xie Xiao】
"Xie Xiao" was first published in the collection of fiction "The Surprise of the Second Moment Shooting Case" compiled by Ling Maochu in the late Ming Dynasty, Shuyun: "On a horse's head, Dong Xiaoren prepared a table of wine, and in the name of Xie Xiao, he invited Lü Zhijun alone." The gist of it was: "On a pier, Dong Ruren prepared a banquet and invited Lü Zhijun alone in the name of Xie Xiao. (Here the ma tong code, for the tong kanji).
In addition to the "Surprise of the Second Moment Shooting", there are also records of "Xie Xiao" in other classical texts. There is a passage in the "Record of Earth Winds" compiled by Gu Zhangsi of the Qing Dynasty: "Relatives died to the seventh day,
Thank you for your relatives and friends, thank you for your filial piety. The gist of it is: When a loved one dies for 7749 days, the filial piety keeper wears a mourning robe and a mourning belt to thank his relatives and friends, which is called "Xie Filial Piety".
【Xie Xiao's personnel】
In modern funerals, Xie Xiaoxiao is mostly for nephews/nieces to go to the uncle's house Xie Xiaoxiao, that is, the deceased's mother's family Xie Xiaoxiao. Regardless of whether the deceased is a man or a woman, the children of the deceased are required to participate in the ceremony of filial piety. Most of the people who went to the uncle's house to thank the filial piety were the children of the deceased. If the bereaved owner is an one-child family, he can go to his uncle's house with his cousin to xie xiao, that is, filial piety to the old woman's house to thank xiao. If the deceased has no children, nephews and nieces can go to the mother's family's house instead to thank filial piety.
【Xie Xiao's Preparation】
Xie Xiao's preparation work has two things: First, the gift that Xie Xiao brings when he is young, this is very important. Gifts should not be bought casually, but should be prepared by the mother's family. According to traditional customs, when the mother's family mourns the deceased on the funeral day, it is necessary to prepare the gifts required for filial piety, the gifts do not need to be more, but must be prepared, the specific content is: a white rooster, a plate of firecrackers, two carps, offerings (knife heads) seven to eight pounds, incense, eight steamed buns, several bundles of yellow burnt paper, two white candles, etc., and the gifts brought by Xie Xiao in different regions will be different.
Second, the preparation of filial piety, filial piety to go to the uncle's house to thank filial piety, to wear a neat filial piety, filial piety shirt, filial piety belt. Then the elders of the same clan led the filial piety to the mother-in-law's house to thank the filial piety.
【Xie Xiao's exquisiteness】
Xie Xiaoshi is also quite exquisite, because it is the nephew who goes to the mother-in-law's house Xie Xiaoxiao, the etiquette naturally cannot be neglected, and the kneeling ceremony of the line is still to be performed. There are three main objects of the nephew's xie xiaoli: First, the uncle: this naturally requires the kneeling ceremony, and it is the first time to bow down in the mother-in-law's house. The old saying goes, "Mother's uncle is big", "Heavenly Lei Gong, underground Uncle Gong", the uncle's position in the funeral can be said to be unparalleled. Therefore, the nephew and niece Xie Xiao, the first time he knelt down to pay homage, he had to give it to his uncle first.
Second, the uncle's clan: This cousin, who is mostly an uncle, the nephew performs the kneeling ceremony to the uncle, and after a short rest, the uncle will lead the uncle to the homes of all ethnic groups to perform the kneeling ceremony to express gratitude to the mother's family for participating in the funeral.
Third, the ancestors of the uncle's family: This is the top priority of Xie Xiao, and it is also the most solemn ceremony in the Xie Xiao link. The maternal uncle took his nephew and niece to the ancestral cemetery to thank him, that is, to thank the ancestors. The process of xie filial piety in the ancestral grave of the maternal uncle is roughly as follows: first, clean up the grave and check whether there is anything unusual in the cemetery; second, place the offerings; third, draw and burn paper money; fourth, set off firecrackers; fifth, perform the kneeling ceremony (prostrate four heads and make two strokes), and sixth, collect the offerings and return according to the same path, so that the ceremony of xie filial piety is over.
【Xie Xiao's gift】
After the ceremony of Xie Xiaoxiao, the maternal uncle's family wanted to entertain the filial piety who came to Xie Xiao, which will not be repeated here. When Xiaozi was about to return home after completing Xie Xiaozi's mission, his uncle would give some gifts back to the filial son who came to Xie Xiaozi. According to traditional customs, gifts only need to return four steamed buns, if the nephew brings more offerings (knife heads), you can divide the meat offerings into two parts, filial piety to bring back one, the uncle's family to keep a copy. At this point, the entire Xie Xiao process is over. (Images from the Internet, such as intrusion contact deletion)