What day is Tomb-Sweeping Day?

The date of Tomb-Sweeping Day is determined by the ecliptic.

The twenty-four solar terms are divided according to the position of the sun on the ecliptic, that is, the orbit of the earth around the sun. The sun starts from the vernal equinox, that is, the longitude of the Yellow River is zero. At this moment, the sun shines vertically on the equator, and every advance of 15 degrees is a solar term; After a week's operation, I returned to the vernal equinox, which is a tropical year with 360 degrees, so it is divided into 24 solar terms. Generally speaking, last year's winter solstice was Qingming after 108, and it began when the sun reached 15 degrees.

Qingming is the fifth of the 24 solar terms, so the solar term behind Qingming is the sixth solar term, Grain Rain. Grain Rain is the sixth of the 24 solar terms. Every year from April 19 to April 2 1 day, when the sun reaches 30, it is Grain Rain, which comes from the old saying "Rain makes a hundred valleys". At the same time, it is also the best time for sowing, transplanting and ordering beans.

Dietary customs in Tomb-Sweeping Day:

In addition to various folk customs, such as grave-sweeping, outing and so on, some diets in Tomb-Sweeping Day are also quite distinctive. In some places, there is a custom of eating "descendants swallows", that is, steaming a lot of steamed buns to make them into the shape of swallows when worshipping ancestors, and giving them to children after the sacrificial ceremony to welcome the arrival of spring.

In ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day, people also ate eggs, which was very similar to Easter in the west. Eggs also mean a life form. In some places in the south, "green meatballs" are also eaten, that is, the juice of wormwood or other edible grass is mixed with glutinous rice, steamed and released, and the green meatballs are fragrant and delicious.

In addition to the above diet, "drinking porridge" is also one of the folk customs in Tomb-Sweeping Day. In order to adapt to the characteristics of hair growth in spring, people will add leeks, bean sprouts and other foods on this day.