What's the difference between Cold Food Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day and Tomb-Sweeping Day?

Introduction: Cold Food Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day are both important traditional festivals in China, but we often see Tomb-Sweeping Day, but there are few cold food festivals. In fact, these two festivals are very close in time and have a good relationship. So, what does the Cold Food Festival have to do with Tomb-Sweeping Day? Although the two dates are close, there are still many differences. What's the difference between Cold Food Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day? Come and have a look with me.

In ancient times, the relationship between "Tomb-Sweeping Day" and "Cold Food Festival" was: the day before in Tomb-Sweeping Day was "Cold Food Festival", and now they have merged into one in customs.

Tomb-Sweeping Day started in the Zhou Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,500 years. Qingming is one of the twenty-four solar terms in the China lunar calendar. At this time, the rain increased, and the earth showed a scene of spring, tranquility and peace. It is said that Tomb-Sweeping Day originated from the "tomb sacrifice" ceremony of ancient emperors and generals, and later people followed suit, offering sacrifices to ancestors and sweeping graves on this day.

In ancient times, the day before Tomb-Sweeping Day was called "Cold Food Festival". According to legend, during the Spring and Autumn Period, Jin Wengong was in trouble, and Jiexiu cut his own meat to satisfy his hunger. After Jin Wengong ascended the throne, Jiexiu was asked to be an official, but Jiexiu lived in seclusion in Mianshan. Jin Wengong asked Yamakaji to try to force Jiexiu out, but Jiexiu was burned to death by mistake. Jin Wengong regretted it very much and ordered that fire should be banned from now on. Because of the fire ban, people can only eat cold food on this day, so it is called "cold food". After that, cold food and cold food gradually merged into one, which was followed from generation to generation and became a traditional festival of the Chinese nation.

Cold Food Festival is different from Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Different functions

When Tomb-Sweeping Day arrived, the Cold Food Festival followed. Now, some people confuse cold food with Qingming, which is actually wrong. Because one is a farming solar term and the other is a folk festival, which is not the same thing. Tomb-Sweeping Day is one of the twenty-four solar terms in the China lunar calendar, usually around April 4th and 5th in the Gregorian calendar. The Cold Food Festival is a folk festival, which originated from the story of Zhong Er Minister Jin Wengong who was burned to death in Mianshan, Jiexiu, and refused to go down the mountain to be sealed. One is farming solar terms, and the other is allusions and folk customs, which are two different things; However, these two festivals are separated by one or two days, or even coincide on one day, so there is a saying that Qingming and cold food are also called.

Different cultural connotations

Before the Tang Dynasty, Cold Food and Tomb-Sweeping Day were two consecutive festivals with different themes. The former mourns the past and the latter seeks new life. There is a close relationship between one yin and one yang and one response. It is forbidden to make a fire. Sacrificing the dead is to save lives. This is the internal cultural connection between cold food and Qingming. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the imperial court fixed the custom of sweeping graves at the Cold Food Festival in front of Tomb-Sweeping Day by decree. Because cold food and Qingming are closely linked in time, the custom of cold food festival has long been linked with Qingming, and grave sweeping has been postponed from cold food to Qingming.

What are the traditional foods of the Cold Food Festival?

1, Qingming fruit: a kind of food made around Tomb-Sweeping Day. This kind of fruit looks like jiaozi, but it tastes very different. The outer skin is made of golden cypress or wormwood, and the stuffing is leek, egg and dried bean curd.

2. Green ball: a green cake ball made of grass head juice, sweet and delicious, soft and delicious, with the aroma of wormwood leaves. Eating dumplings is mainly popular in festivals such as Tomb-Sweeping Day and Cold Food Festival in the south of the Yangtze River, and it is a traditional holiday food of the Han nationality.

3. Runbing dish: also known as Runbing dish and Nenbing dish, it is a kind of spring rolls, which originated in Quanzhou and later became popular in Taiwan Province Province and Fujian Province. Every time in Tomb-Sweeping Day, Quanzhou people have the custom of eating "moist cakes and vegetables". It is said that this is the legacy of the ancient Cold Food Festival.

4. Green rice: Also known as black rice, black rice and black rice, this glutinous rice dyed with the juice of black rice tree is Qing Wu, which is one of the foods of the Cold Food Festival. On the third day of March every year, every household of the She nationality cooks "black rice" and presents it to relatives and friends of the Han nationality. Over time, the local Han people also have the custom of eating "black rice" on Qingming Day.

5. Cold porridge: During the Cold Food Festival, people are not allowed to move fireworks and firecrackers. They need to prepare cold food such as wheat porridge to commemorate that this cold porridge is a holiday diet handed down from the Cold Food Festival.

What are the customs in Tomb-Sweeping Day?

1, Swing: This is the custom of ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day in China. Swing means pulling a leather rope to move. It has a very long history. It was originally called Qian Qiu, but later it was changed to a swing to avoid taboos. In ancient times, swings were made of branches and tied with ribbons. Later, it gradually developed into a swing with two ropes and pedals.

2, Cuju: Cuju is a kind of ball, the ball skin is made of leather, and the ball is filled with wool. Cuju is playing football with your feet. This is a popular game in ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day. According to legend, it was invented by the Yellow Emperor with the original purpose of training warriors.

The Relationship between Cold Food Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day

3, hiking: also known as spring outing. In ancient times, it was called Tanchun and Xunchun. Qingming in April, spring returns to the earth, and nature presents a vibrant scene everywhere, which is a good time for an outing.

4, sweeping the grave: Qingming sweeping the grave, this is called "respect for time" for ancestors. Its customs have a long history. In the Ming Dynasty's "Scenery of the Imperial Capital", it was written: "On the Qingming Day in March, men and women went to the grave to pay their respects, and the gold ingots were hung on the back of the sedan chair, and the road was full of embarrassment. Worshipers, mourners, weeping, weeding and adding soil to graves, burning gold ingots several times and buying graves with paper money. If there is no paper money in front of you, it will be a lonely grave. Cry, don't come back, go to the tree, choose the garden and get drunk. "