The Legend of Tomb-Sweeping Day

According to legend, during the Spring and Autumn Period, Zhong Er, the son of the Jin Dynasty, went into exile to escape persecution. On the way to exile, in a deserted place, I was tired and hungry, and I couldn't stand up anymore.

I searched for it for a long time, but I couldn't find anything to eat. When everyone was in a hurry, I took meson to a quiet place, cut a piece of meat from my thigh and cooked a bowl of broth for my son to drink. Zhong Er gradually recovered his spirit. Zhong Er was moved to tears when he found that the meat was cut off from his leg by mesons.

Nineteen years later, Zhong Er became the monarch, that is, the historical Jin Wengong. After he ascended the throne, Wen Gong rewarded the heroes who accompanied him in exile at first, but forgot to push the meson. Many people complained about meson push and advised him to admire it. However, mesons despise those who strive for merit the most. He packed his bags and quietly went to Mianshan to live in seclusion with his old mother.

Hearing this, Jin Wengong was ashamed and personally took someone to ask Jiexiu, but Jiexiu had left home for Mianshan. Mianshan Mountain is high and dangerous, with dense trees. It's hard to find two people. Someone offered a plan to burn Mianshan from three sides and force a meson to push out.

The fire burned all over Mianshan, but there was no trace of meson push. After the fire was put out, it was found that Jiezitui had sat under an old willow tree with his old mother on his back and died. Jin Wengong cried. When I was buried, I found a skirt in a tree hole, which said, "May my Lord be clear forever." To commemorate meson tui, Jin Wengong ordered that this day be designated as Cold Food Festival.

The following year, Jin Wengong led ministers to climb mountains to pay homage. When he discovered that the old willow tree had come back from the dead, he gave it the title of "Qingming Willow" and told the world that the day after the Cold Food Festival was designated as Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Tomb-Sweeping Day, also known as the outing festival, is at the turn of the vernal equinox and the end of spring, usually around April 5, after the vernal equinox 15 on the Gregorian calendar. From 65438 to 0935, the government of the Republic of China designated April 5th as a national statutory holiday in Tomb-Sweeping Day, also known as the National Tomb Sweeping Festival.

On February 7, 2007, the 1 98th executive meeting of the State Council adopted a decision on amending the National Festival and Memorial Day, stipulating that "Tomb-Sweeping Day will have a holiday1day (the first day of the Lunar New Year is clear), and Tomb-Sweeping Day will officially become a legal holiday in 2008, with one day off. It was changed to three days in 2009. 20 14 Tomb-Sweeping Day holiday is from April 5th to April 7th.

Qingming has two connotations: nature and humanity. It is both a natural solar term and a traditional festival. Tomb-Sweeping Day is an important traditional Spring Festival, and the custom of sweeping graves to worship ancestors is still prevalent in Lingnan area. Through historical development, Tomb-Sweeping Day has absorbed and integrated the customs of Cold Food Festival and Shangsi Festival, which has extremely rich cultural connotations.

There are differences in customs and contents in different parts of the country. Although the festival activities vary from place to place, grave sweeping, ancestor worship and outing are the basic customs and themes.

Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Spring Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival are also called the four traditional festivals in China. On May 20, 2006, with the approval of the State Council, Tomb-Sweeping Day declared by the Ministry of Culture of China was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list (category: folk customs; No.: X-2).