What are the customs of the first seven days after a person dies? Why do we have to observe the first seven days after a person dies?

Influenced by Taoism, Buddhism and other religious thoughts, the ancients believed that people did not completely disappear after death but that their souls would remain. This concept also made people pay great attention to funeral rituals. So what are the customs of the first seven days after a person’s death? Why do we hold a memorial ceremony for the deceased?

What are the meanings of the first seven days after death?

The first seven days of the month:
In order to alleviate the grief of losing a loved one and the pressure on the family members of the deceased, the number of times the seven-day ceremony is performed has been changed from seven to four. That is: the first seven (replaced by the three day original burial), the third seven, the fifth seven, the seventh seven (now only odd numbers are burned, which is the so-called big seven).
The first seven days of the year are as follows:
According to traditional funeral customs, the deceased's sons should be the main culprits during the first and seventh seventh funerals. That is, all the necessities for the seventh seventh funeral should be purchased by the sons. Because the son is the heir of the family, the seven-day memorial ceremony must have a complete beginning and an end, so in most places the first seven days and the seventh seven days are hosted by the son of the deceased.
The first seven days of the lunar calendar are as follows:
When holding the 37th day memorial service for the deceased, the deceased's daughter-in-law is usually the main person involved, with nephews and nieces also participating. All expenses on the 37th day are also borne by the daughter-in-law.
The first seven days are as follows:
The fifth seven days of the seventh month is what people often call the fifth seven. According to old customs, memorial activities on the 57th day must be organized by the married daughter who returns, and all expenses on the 57th day must be borne by the married daughter. If the deceased has no married daughter, the marriage will be done by a married niece or great-niece.

Why do people have to hold a seven-day memorial ceremony after death?

The folk custom of holding a seven-day memorial ceremony for the dead has a lot to do with the prevalence of Buddhism.
Buddhism advocates the immortality of the soul and believes that people who have committed heinous crimes should go to hell immediately after death, while people who have done good deeds should go to heaven immediately after death. Those dead souls who have not been reincarnated are not ghosts, but a body waiting for the opportunity to be reincarnated. Therefore, Buddhism believes that within seven periods after a person’s death, if the relatives can ask monks to perform some rituals, the soul of the deceased can be successfully reincarnated into a better place.