Do all relatives have to be present to do anything on the seventh day?

People attach great importance to the custom of the first seven days. There are many rules for the first seven days. Some places will invite people to perform rituals, and each place is slightly different. What should we do on the seventh day?

What to do on the first seven days

1. In Chinese folk customs, the "first seven days" is to "welcome the deceased to return home". On this day, a table of sumptuous dishes needs to be prepared for their "souls" to enjoy, which is the saying "eat well before going on the road". After eating, their "souls" will go to reincarnate and bid farewell to the world completely. It is also necessary to burn more "ghost money" for the "dead" so that they have money to spend in "heaven"!
2. Another point to note is that after preparing the "meal" for him, everyone in the family must leave, otherwise he will have the idea of ​​"staying in the world" after being "seen" by him, which will affect his reincarnation, and he may become a "lonely ghost" wandering in the world!
3. Another saying is that "the first seven days" is also called "burning the seventh day". It is said among the people that people have three souls and seven spirits, and the "burning seven" here refers to 49 days. The "King of Hell" interrogates once every 7 days, and then "takes away one spirit", until all the "seven spirits" are gone. Then, at the end of every 7 days, it is necessary to "burn ghost money" to ask the "King of Hell" for mercy, so there are the first seven days, the second seven days, the third seven days... the seventh seven days!

How do you know if your deceased relatives have come back?

On the seventh day, ashes should be sprinkled on the altar. It is said that if the deceased has come back, he will leave chicken footprints on the ashes. Why chicken footprints? Because the chicken is a purely yang creature, a magical animal that can travel between the two worlds, the deceased cannot return to the world of the living by himself, so he will come back riding on a rooster offered by his descendants.