What are the common customs in Tomb-Sweeping Day?

What are the common customs in Tomb-Sweeping Day? What are the distinctive folk customs?

Worship of tomb ancestors

Tomb-Sweeping Day's folk custom of eating cold food and sweeping graves was handed down from generation to generation in the Tang Dynasty. During the Kaiyuan period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the grave-sweeping ceremony of cold food folk custom was included in the ceremony, so that scholars and officials below princes could do the same ceremony to show filial piety. [1] Go to the grave to pay homage and prepare the food that our ancestors loved before their death. After the worship, you can mourn and say goodbye. You can eat the rest of the sacrifices where you can't see the graves of your ancestors, and you can't enjoy yourself, which shows your filial piety. Since the Tang Dynasty, it has become an important thing for the whole family to visit graves every year.

spring outing

Go for an outing, also known as spring outing, spring outing and spring seeking, is one of Tomb-Sweeping Day's favorite activities. During the Qingming Festival, the spring is bright and sunny, which is a good time to go for an outing. Walking with men, women and children, picking flowers and plants in the mountains, or playing and bathing at the seaside are very beneficial to physical and mental health. Wu Weixin, a poet in the Song Dynasty, wrote in a poem: "Pear blossoms rise in the wind, wanderers go out of the city to look for spring, and they clean up at dusk, and thousands of willows sing."

Related to hiking, Qingming also saw a series of activities, such as hiking through willows, flying kites, swinging and performing hundreds of performances.

Insert willow and pierce willow.

Willow has a strong vitality, and the ancients said that willow branches have the function of ward off evil spirits. "Take and stay at home, and ghosts will not enter the house" (Yao Min Shu in the Northern Wei Dynasty). It is a custom of the ancients' Cold Food Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day to wear willow and insert willow. The legend can be traced back to the time when Jin Wengong commemorated the loyal minister Jietui in the Spring and Autumn Period. In the Song Dynasty, after people visited the grave, they often picked willow branches from the grave and put them in front of it. They also took willow branches home and put them on the lintel to ward off evil spirits. This is what Lu You said, "Remember others' inserting willows into the shade" (spring day).

Raise the fire of a new fire willow

It is forbidden to put out fires with cold food, and only eat cold food without cooking. A "Tomb-Sweeping Day awarded a new fire" (Tang Ning He's "Gong Ci 26"), Tomb-Sweeping Day was the day when a new fire was awarded in the palace. In spring, elm willow is taken as a new fire, which is called "willow fire".

Cockfighting and egg fighting

Cold food, Qingming cockfighting and egg fighting originated in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Lv Chunqiu Tea Micro records "Lv Zhi and _ cockfighting". The Jade Candle Book from the Northern Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty records that "there are many cockfighting and egg-beating activities in this cold food festival. Spring and Autumn (time) season _ chicken fights and Yan Lubang ".

Cockfighting was a common recreational activity in the Tang Dynasty, and scholars left many poems about cockfighting. Meng Haoran wrote a poem describing the scene of cold food, "Cockfighting, having fun and admiring friends" ("Li Shaofu and Yang Jiu Come Again"). The Road to Cockfighting reveals the popularity of cockfighting fashion. At that time, there were cockfighting farms among the people, and even the emperor liked to fight cockfighting.

Besides cockfighting, people also fight eggs. How to play fighting eggs? According to the local chronicles of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, The Story of Jingchu Times, cockfighting refers to pulling eggs or carving eggs to compete with each other, and it is also given as a gift to relatives and friends far away. In ancient times, rich people not only dyed eggs Nancy motley, but also carved them. Bai Juyi's poem describes the beauty of fighting eggs: "Exquisite eggs turn into colorful flowers." ("He Chunshen 26") Why do you want to drop eggs? It means "gather, hide and disperse everything", which means to inspire people to start from spring and inspire new vitality in a year.

Pin huo Ji cha

Before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, it was drizzling, and the breath of Qingming moistened tea and gave birth to good tea. Tomb-Sweeping Day _' s tea has a proper term called "riding fire tea"; Fire refers to a new fire day, that is, Tomb-Sweeping Day. Tea Spectrum written by Mao Wenxi in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties recorded the relationship between "riding fire tea" and Tomb-Sweeping Day: "There is riding fire tea in Long 'an, which is the highest, and there is nothing before the fire and nothing after the fire, so it is also. Qingming changed to fire, so it was called riding fire. 」

Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty visited Hangzhou for the first time. He watched tea in Tianzhu, a famous tea area in Hangzhou, and wrote "Watching Tea Like a Song". In the poem, he said that riding fire tea is neither old nor tender, and its quality is the best. "Before the fire, it is tender, and after the fire, it is old. Only riding fire is the best." The spirit of Qingming nurtures everything, and the tea of Tomb-Sweeping Day gets its essence; _ Riding fire tea is only one day a year, and drinking it is also a treasure of Tomb-Sweeping Day.

The climate of Tomb-Sweeping Day.

On April 5th or 6th every year, the sun reaches longitude 15 degrees, passing through Tomb-Sweeping Day. "Qingming" means melting ice and snow, lush vegetation, sunny weather and prosperity of everything. "Full of willow green, painting a clear March day", "Happy and clear holidays, smiling peaches and plums" and "Soft native vegetation in rainy suburbs" are vivid descriptions of the phenology of heaven and earth in the "Qingming" season.

Qingming is an important agricultural solar term. Climatically, the average daily temperature in most parts of China has risen to 65438 02℃ except the northeast and northwest regions. Glaciers melt in the north and south of the great river, inside and outside the Great Wall, geese fly north, magnolia and winter jasmine bloom one after another, and then bauhinia, cherry blossom, apricot blossom and pear blossom in turn, competing for beauty, and hard-working farmers are busy sowing. "Before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, almost." Melon gives birth to beans "and" Qingming is connected with Grain Rain, so don't hesitate to soak seeds and farm "? These agricultural proverbs are evidence that farmers attach great importance to the spirit of Tomb-Sweeping Day.

In the south, "the wind of pear blossoms is clear", which is pink, willow green, pear white and vegetable yellow, and many plants have entered the flowering period. In order to improve the fruit setting rate, necessary artificial pollination must be carried out. The wheat in the south of Huanghuai has also entered the jointing stage, so it is the key to achieve high yield to do a good job in fertilizer and water management and pest control in the later stage of wheat. Clear sowing should be paid close attention to in early and middle rice. At the same time, the new buds of tea trees are growing vigorously, which is an excellent opportunity to pick the top grade. If you are lucky enough to set foot in the tea country, you will also witness the scene of "picking spring" for tea brothers and sisters.

"It rains in succession during the Qingming Festival" is by no means an artistic imagination, but a poet's accurate description of the climate characteristics of Jiangnan at this time. There is plenty of rain on cloudy and sunny days, which can meet the needs of the growth and development of various crops. Therefore, there is a saying that "after the rain clears, the year is good." However, things are always the opposite. Too much precipitation can also induce wet damage and harm crops, so we need to be vigilant.

In the north, this is a suitable sowing date for many spring sowing crops, such as spring wheat, corn and sorghum. At this time, the weather warms up quickly, the soil thaws, and the soil layer can reach 5- 10 cm deep, which is a good opportunity to plant wheat at the top.