What should be done on the first seven days? What should be paid attention to? The origin of the first seven days

In traditional funeral concepts, the deceased will return home on the seventh day after death. During this period, there are many things to pay attention to, such as preparing soul meals and ladders for the deceased. What should we do on the seventh day? What should I pay attention to? What is the origin of the seventh day burning ceremony?

What should I do on the seventh day?

Don’t go to the grave <br/>There are many things that should not be done on the first seven days. For example, don’t go to the grave to offer sacrifices on the first seven days. After all, the deceased will go home on this day and will not be in the grave. Therefore, sacrifices should be offered at home, otherwise it will be a big taboo.
Certain groups of people should pay attention to avoid <br/>Women who are in confinement after childbirth and people who wear glasses should not stay at home and should go out to avoid the underworld, so as not to run into the deceased and officials from the underworld, because after the first seven days, the deceased will begin their journey to the underworld and will never come back.
Avoid verbal disputes <br/>When returning home on the seventh day after the death, family members must not engage in verbal disputes. If there is a quarrel in the family on the seventh day, the deceased will feel sad and hope for peace at home, so he will stay at home and cannot leave, which will delay his reincarnation and he will become a lonely ghost.

The Origin of the First Seven Days Burning

1. The earliest complete rituals and customs of offering sacrifices to the dead in China can be traced back to the pre-Qin period. In the modern text of the "Book of Filial Piety", Confucius has already proposed that for the deceased elders, "a coffin, clothes and quilts should be prepared for them, and their food and beverages should be laid out to mourn them; weep and beat our heads to send them off with sorrow; we divine their graves and arrange for their rest; we build ancestral temples for them so that their ghosts can enjoy them. We offer sacrifices in spring and autumn and think of them from time to time."
2. Later, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, with the rapid rise of Buddhism in the country, traditional funeral customs were greatly affected.
3. In the History of the Northern Dynasties, it is recorded that "Although (Hu) Guozhen was very old, he loved Buddhism. When he died, he ordered to hold a vegetarian feast for a thousand monks from the day of his death to the 79th day after his death."
4. After the death of his relative Hu Guozhen, Emperor Xiaoming of the Northern Wei Dynasty held a vegetarian feast for a thousand monks for 49 days and ordained seven people to become monks. This is the earliest written record of "burning the seventh day".