English composition about Tomb-Sweeping Day! 8th grade's. Don't be too profound! Don't copy!

Tomb-Sweeping Day is one of the 24 solar terms around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar every year. It is April 4th in Tomb-Sweeping Day this year. Among the 24 solar terms, Qingming is the only solar term that is both a solar term and a festival. Tomb-Sweeping Day is a traditional festival in China, and it is also the most important festival of sacrifice. According to the old custom, when offering sacrifices (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 some green branches and insert them in front of the graves, then kowtow and go home after eating the food.

Tomb-Sweeping Day, also known as the outing festival, is a season of bright spring and lush vegetation, and it is also a good time for people to go for a spring outing. Therefore, 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 worshipping ancestors and mourning the dead relatives in Tomb-Sweeping Day is still very popular.

Tomb-Sweeping Day, celebrated two weeks after the vernal equinox, is one of the few traditional festivals in China that follow the solar calendar, usually on April 4th, 5th or 6th.

Its Chinese name "Qingming" literally means "clear and bright", implying its importance as a celebration of spring. Similar to the Spring Festival in other cultures, Tomb-Sweeping Day celebrates the rebirth of nature and marks the beginning of planting season and other outdoor activities.

Ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day

An old man took one last look before leaving the city cemetery in Biandan Mountain, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China.

In ancient times, people celebrated Ming Jie by dancing, singing, picnicking and flying kites. Colored boiled eggs will be broken, symbolizing the beginning of life. In the capital, the emperor will plant trees in the courtyard of the palace to celebrate the rebirth of spring. In the village, young men and women will pursue each other.

Today is Tomb-Sweeping Day.

With the passage of time, this festival to celebrate life has become a day to commemorate ancestors. Following folk religion, China people believe that the souls of their deceased ancestors will take care of their families. The sacrifice of food and spiritual money can make them happy, and families will prosper through bumper harvests and more children.

Today, people in China will go to their family cemetery to look for any growing bushes. Weeds are pulled up, the soil is swept away, and the family will put food and spiritual money. Unlike sacrifices on family altars, sacrifices in graves are usually made up of dry and tasteless food. There is a theory that because there are many ghosts around the cemetery, less attractive food will be eaten by ancestors rather than plundered by strangers.

Respect ancestors

Paying homage to ancestors begins with the correct positioning of cemeteries and coffins. Feng Shui experts judge the quality of land by surrounding streams, rivers, trees and hills. In a south-facing area, there is a pine forest, which creates the best cosmic energy flow needed to keep ancestors happy. Unfortunately, with the rapid population growth in China, public cemeteries have rapidly replaced private cemeteries. Family elders go to the cemetery at least once a year to look after the grave.

When light food was placed next to the tomb of Ming Jie in the Qing Dynasty, China people regularly offered delicious sacrifices to their ancestors on the altars in their homes. Food usually includes chicken, eggs or other dishes that the deceased ancestors liked. With rice, dishes and tableware are carefully arranged to bring good luck. Sometimes, a family will put incense in their offerings to speed up the transfer of nutrients to their ancestors. In some parts of China, food is eaten by the whole family.

kite

In addition to the tradition of commemorating the dead, people often fly their kits in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Kites can come in various shapes, sizes and colors. Designs can include frogs, dragonflies, butterflies, crabs, bats and storks.