The origin of Tomb-Sweeping Day

Qingming is one of the twenty-four solar terms, which appeared in the Zhou Dynasty as a traditional festival. Tomb-Sweeping Day is named because it is "fresh and refreshing", the world warms up and everything recovers. In traditional customs, there are two activities on this day: hiking or sweeping graves.

Extended data:

According to legend, the custom of ancestor worship in Tomb-Sweeping Day began with the "tomb sacrifice" ceremony when the ancient emperors and generals went for an outing in the suburbs. Later, people followed suit, and it became a fixed custom of the Chinese nation to worship ancestors and sweep graves on this day.

Qingming is one of the 24 solar terms in China, and the time is around April 5 of the solar calendar every year; After Tomb-Sweeping Day, the rain increased, and the earth showed a scene of spring and Qingming; At this time, everything, whether it is the vegetation in nature or the human body in natural places, has changed the filth in winter, ushered in the breath of spring and realized the transformation from yin to yang.

After more than two thousand years' evolution, Tomb-Sweeping Day has gone beyond the meaning of solar terms and has extremely rich connotations. Different customs have been developed in different places, and sweeping graves to worship ancestors and outing are the basic themes.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Tomb-Sweeping Day