Why is Tomb-Sweeping Day April 4th or 5th in the solar calendar?

Tomb-Sweeping Day is basically fixed on April 5th every year, and Tomb-Sweeping Day is one of the traditional solar terms. The calculation is based on the annual vernal equinox. The vernal equinox has a solar term every 15 days, so Qingming is generally between April 4 and April 6 in the solar calendar, with more time on April 5. It is not fixed on April 5 of the solar calendar, nor is it determined by the lunar calendar. Tomb-Sweeping Day in 20 18 is April 5th.

On May 20th, 2006, with the approval of the State Council, Tomb-Sweeping Day announced by the Ministry of Culture of China was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list.

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Besides paying attention to hiking and grave-sweeping, Tomb-Sweeping Day also has a series of customs and sports activities, such as banning fire, swinging, cuju, playing polo and inserting willows. In the history of China, eating cold food and forbidding fire and worshipping ancestors have long been a custom. After the Tang Dynasty, the Cold Food Festival gradually declined, and Tomb-Sweeping Day's grave-sweeping and ancestor-worship became a custom tradition that has continued to this day. Even in today's society, around Tomb-Sweeping Day, people still have the custom of going to graves to pay homage to their ancestors: uprooting weeds, placing offerings, burning incense and praying in front of graves, burning paper money and gold ingots, or simply offering a bunch of flowers to express their memory of their ancestors.

Qingming Festival is the time when spring returns to the earth. People take advantage of this benefit to enjoy themselves in the mountains and rural areas while sweeping graves. Going for an outing is also called a spring outing. In ancient times, it was called spring exploration. It means stepping on the grass, playing in the country and watching the spring scenery.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Tomb-Sweeping Day