Is it Tomb-Sweeping Day today?

Not today. Today is March 28th and April 4th in Tomb-Sweeping Day, and there are still a few days (next Saturday).

Qingming is one of the 24 solar terms in China. Because the 24 solar terms objectively reflect the changes of temperature, rainfall and phenology in a year, ancient working people used them to arrange agricultural activities. Huainanzi? "Astronomical Training" says: "On the fifteenth day after the vernal equinox, when the bucket refers to B, the Qingming wind will arrive. According to "/kloc-Problems at the Age of 0/00", "Everything grows clean and bright at this time. So it's called Qingming. "As soon as Qingming arrives, the temperature rises and the rainfall increases, which is a good season for spring ploughing and spring planting. Therefore, there is an agricultural proverb that "before and after Qingming, point melons and plant beans" and "it is better to plant trees than Qingming". It can be seen that this solar term is closely related to agricultural production.

However, Qingming, as a festival, is different from pure solar terms. Solar terms are signs of phenological changes and seasonal order in China, while festivals contain certain customs and activities and some commemorative significance.

Tomb-Sweeping Day is a traditional festival in China, and it is also the most important festival to worship ancestors and sweep graves. Grave-sweeping is commonly known as going to the grave to worship ancestors. Most Han people and some ethnic minorities visit graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day.

According to the old custom, when sweeping graves, people should bring food, wine, fruit, paper money and other items to the cemetery, offer food to the graves of their loved ones, then burn the paper money, cultivate new soil for the graves, break a few green branches and insert them in the graves, then kowtow and worship, and finally eat and drink home. The poem Qingming written by Du Mu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, said: "There are many rains during the Qingming period, and pedestrians on the road want to break their souls. Ask local people where to buy wine? The shepherd boy pointed to Xinghua Village. " Write the special atmosphere of Tomb-Sweeping Day.

According to the solar calendar, Tomb-Sweeping Day, also known as the outing festival, falls between April 4th and 6th every year, which is a season of bright spring and lush vegetation, and also a good opportunity for people to have a spring outing (called outing in ancient times), so the ancients had the custom of going for an outing in Qingming and carrying out a series of sports activities.

To this day, the custom of ancestor worship and mourning for relatives in Tomb-Sweeping Day is still very popular.

The origin and legend of Tomb-Sweeping Day;

The traditional Tomb-Sweeping Day in China began in the Zhou Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,500 years. Tomb-Sweeping Day was originally a very important solar term. As soon as Qingming arrives, the temperature rises, which is a good time for spring ploughing and planting. Therefore, there is a saying that "melons and beans are planted before and after the Qingming Festival". The agricultural proverb "Planting trees is not as clear as Qingming". Later, as the days of Qingming and cold food approached, and cold food was the day when people banned fire from sweeping graves, gradually, cold food and Qingming became one, and cold food became another name and a custom of Qingming. In Qingming, no fireworks were used, only cold food was eaten.

There is a legend about cold food:

According to legend, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Jin Xiangong's concubine was forced to commit suicide in order to let her son inherit the throne. Shen Sheng's younger brother, Zhong Er, went into exile to escape the scourge. During his exile, Zhong Er was humiliated. It turned out that most of the courtiers who went out with him went out one after another. Only a few loyal people have been following him. One of them is called meson push. On one occasion, Zhong Er fainted from hunger. In order to save Zhong Er, Jiezitui cut a piece of meat from his leg and cooked it with fire for Zhong Er to eat. Nineteen years later, Zhong Er returned to China to become a monarch, namely Jin Wengong, one of the famous five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period.

After Jin Wengong came to power, he greatly rewarded his courtiers who shared weal and woe with him, except for Jie Zitui. Someone defended meson in front of Jin Wengong. Jin Wengong suddenly remembered the past and felt guilty, and immediately sent someone to ask meson to take the court as an official's reward. However, after several trips, the meson could not be pushed. Jin Wengong had to please. However, when Jin Wengong came to the meson pusher's house, he saw the door closed. Jiezitui didn't want to see him, and had already hid in Mianshan (now southeast of Jiexiu County, Shanxi Province) behind his mother's back. Jin Wengong sent his body guard to Mianshan to look for it, but he couldn't find it. Therefore, someone came up with an idea. He said, it is best to set Yamakaji free and set fire on three sides, leaving one side. When the fire burns, the meson will come out by itself. Jin Wengong ordered the promotion of Yamakaji. Unexpectedly, the fire burned for three days and three nights. After the fire was put out, the meson was not pushed out after all. Looking up the mountain, the mother and son were holding a charred willow tree and were dead. Jin Wengong looked at meson push's body and cried for a while. Then he buried the body and found that meson tui's back was blocked by a willow hole, as if there was something. Take out a look, turned out to be a skirt, with a blood poem:

I hope your master will always be awake.

It is better to be a ghost than to accompany you as an exhorter.

If your master has me in his heart, remember that I often reflect.

I have a clear conscience in Jiuquan, and I am diligent and honest.

Jin Wengong hid the bloody book in his sleeve. Then meson tui and his mother were buried under the charred willow tree. To commemorate Jiexiu, Jin Wengong ordered Mianshan to be changed to Jieshan, and built an ancestral temple on the mountain, and designated the day of Yamakaji's release as the Cold Food Festival, telling the people all over the country that it is forbidden to set off fireworks and firecrackers every year and only eat cold food.

When he left, he cut a charred willow and made a pair of clogs in the palace. He looks at it every day and sighs, "What a pity." "The first step" is an ancient name for subordinates to respect each other between superiors or peers, which is said to come from it.

The following year, Jin Wengong led his ministers to hike in plain clothes to show their respect and condolences. Walking to the grave, I saw the dead old willow come back to life, with thousands of green branches dancing in the wind. Jin Wengong looked at the resurrected old willow, as if he saw the promotion of mesons. He walked up to him respectfully, lovingly squeezed a branch, braided it into a circle and put it on his head. After the sacrifice, Jin Wengong named the resurrected old willow "Qingming Willow" and named it Tomb-Sweeping Day.

In the future, Jin Wengong often takes a bloody book as a souvenir to spur himself to power. He worked hard in Ming Dow and made great efforts to govern.

Since then, the people of Jin have been able to live and work in peace and contentment, and they are very nostalgic for Jietui, who has made outstanding contributions and is not looking for wealth. On the day of his death, it is forbidden to set off fireworks in memory of him. It is also made of flour and jujube paste, kneaded into the shape of a swallow, strung with willows and inserted in the door to summon his soul. This thing is called "pushing swallows" (also called intermediary pushing). Since then, cold food and Qingming have become grand festivals for the people of the whole country. Whenever there is cold food, people don't make a fire to cook, but only eat cold food. In the north, people only eat cold food prepared in advance, such as jujube cakes and wheat cakes. In the south, most of them are green balls and glutinous rice and sugar lotus root. Every year in Tomb-Sweeping Day, people put wicker into a circle and put wicker branches in front of and behind the house to show their memory.

Customs in Tomb-Sweeping Day:

Tomb-Sweeping Day's customs are rich and interesting. In addition to paying attention to prohibiting fire and sweeping graves, there are a series of customs and sports activities, such as jogging, swinging, cuju, polo and willow planting. According to legend, this is because Tomb-Sweeping Day wants to ban cold food and fire. In order to prevent cold food and cold meals from hurting people, we all take part in some sports activities to exercise. Therefore, this festival is a distinctive festival, with both sad tears to sweep the new grave and laughter for an outing.

play on the 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. Playing swing can not only improve health, but also cultivate courage, which is loved by people, especially children.

play football

Bow is a rubber ball, the skin of which 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.

spring outing

Also called spring outing. In ancient times, it was called Tanchun and Xunchun. Wan Li is clear in March, and spring returns to the earth. Nature is full of vitality everywhere, which is a good time to go for an outing. Our people have long maintained the habit of going for a walk in the Qingming Festival.

plant trees

Before and after Qingming Festival, the spring sun shines high and the spring rain flies. The planted seedlings have high survival rate and fast growth. Therefore, China has the habit of planting trees in Qingming since ancient times. Some people even call Tomb-Sweeping Day Arbor Day. The custom of planting trees has been passed down to this day. 1979, the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) designated March 12 every year as China's Arbor Day. This is of great significance for mobilizing people of all ethnic groups throughout the country to actively carry out activities to green the motherland.

fly a kite

It is also the most popular activity in Tomb-Sweeping Day. During their stay in Tomb-Sweeping Day, people not only wore it during the day, but also at night. At night, a string of colorful lanterns hangs under a kite or on a guy with stable wind, like a twinkling star, which is called "magic lamp". In the past, some people put kites in the blue sky, then cut the kite strings and let the breeze send them to the ends of the earth. It is said that this can eliminate diseases and disasters and bring good luck to yourself.