What kind of offerings should be prepared on the seventh day after an old man's death? Why is there a saying of "first seven"?

There is a folk saying that people have three souls and seven spirits. One soul leaves a year after death, and one spirit leaves every seven days. The soul is gone after three years, and the spirit is gone after seven days. That’s why we have to celebrate the first seven days and the third anniversary. So what kind of offerings should be prepared on the seventh day after an elderly person’s death? Why is there the concept of the first seven days?

What kind of offerings should be prepared on the seventh day after the death of an old man?

On the seventh day after an old person's death, offerings such as a meal of three kinds of meat, a five-flavor bowl or twelve-flavor bowl, and gold and silver paper money are usually prepared.

1. A portion of three kinds of meat prepared for the seventh day worship: pork, rooster, fish, and wine.

2. Five-flavor bowl or twelve-dish bowl: such as rice, rice noodles, spring onion (symbolizing abundance), leeks (eternity), dried tofu (to become a high-ranking official), celery (hardworking), fish balls, meat balls (to win the imperial examination or become a member of parliament), meat slices, turnips (good luck), pig intestines (to give birth to a boy), chicken wings (easy to make a living), etc.; as well as other fruits, red balls, fa gao (symbolizing the reunion of descendants and prosperity), and noodle mountain (also known as descendants mountain or daughter mountain).

3. Gold and silver paper money: Use gold to worship the God of Land; use silver paper to worship the dead.

Why is there the saying of the first seven?

It is written in ancient books: "When the Heavenly Stems meet seven, it is an evil spirit; when the Earthly Branches meet seven, it is a conflict." The seventh Earthly Branch is considered a clash, just like the seventh Heavenly Stem is considered a disaster. For example, if Zi and Wu are in conflict, Zi to Wu are seven numbers, and Jia meeting Geng is an evil star, so Jia to Geng are seven numbers. “So after a person dies, the soul attaches to the bones. On the seventh day, it encounters the evil spirits of heaven and earth. Because the body is dead, the soul is stimulated and therefore leaves the bones. At this time, the soul is still conscious and knows that its body is dead. Because the soul is stimulated by the evil spirits of heaven and earth for the first time while it is conscious, it feels extremely strong and therefore has the desire to seek protection. Hence the saying "the soul returns on the first seven days" and "the body is buried after the first seven days".