Customs of Tomb-Sweeping Day in Weihai

Tomb-Sweeping Day's customs are rich and interesting. In addition to paying attention to the prohibition of fire to sweep graves, there are a series of customs and sports activities such as jogging, swinging, cuju, playing polo and inserting willows. According to legend, this is because Tomb-Sweeping Day wants to ban cold food and fire. In order to prevent the harm of cold food and cold meal to people, we all take part in some sports activities to exercise. Therefore, this festival is a distinctive festival, with both sad tears to sweep graves and laughter for an outing.

play on the swing

This is the custom of ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day in China. Swing, that is, lift the rope, move. It has a very long history. It was originally called Qian Qiu, but later it was changed into a swing to avoid taboos. In ancient times, swings were made of branches and tied with ribbons. Later, it gradually developed into two ropes, a pedal swing. Playing swing can not only improve health, but also cultivate courage, which is deeply loved by people, especially children.

play football

Bow is a rubber ball, the skin of which is made of leather, and the ball is stuffed with wool. Cuju is kicking the ball with your feet. This is a popular game in ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day. According to legend, it was invented by the Yellow Emperor with the original purpose of training warriors.

spring outing

Also called spring outing. It was called Tanchun and Xunchun in ancient times. March is clear, spring returns to the earth, and nature is full of vitality everywhere, which is a good time to go for an outing. People in our country have always maintained the habit of going for an outing in Qingming.

plant trees

Before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, the spring is bright, the spring is bright, and the spring rain is falling. The planted seedlings have high survival rate and fast growth. Therefore, China has the habit of planting trees in Qingming since ancient times. Some people even call Tomb-Sweeping Day Arbor Day. The custom of planting trees has been passed down to this day. 1979, the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) stipulated March 12 every year as China's Arbor Day. This is of great significance to mobilize people of all ethnic groups in China to actively carry out activities to green the motherland.

fly a kite

It is also Tomb-Sweeping Day's favorite activity. During their stay in Tomb-Sweeping Day, people not only wore it during the day, but also at night. At night, a string of colored lanterns is hung under the kite or on the wind-stabilizing stay, like twinkling stars, which is called "magic lamp". Someone used to put kites in the blue sky, then cut the strings and let the breeze send them to the ends of the earth. It is said that this can eliminate diseases and disasters and bring good luck to yourself.

China people's food culture actually has its most basic reasons. Let's not talk about eating eggs on March 3rd, zongzi, duck eggs and realgar wine on Dragon Boat Festival, moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival, rice on Spring Festival and Yuanxiao on Lantern Festival. There are two points to note here. First, these festivals are basically evenly distributed, after a period of time. Second, you can't do without something to eat. This is because in China's thousands of years of history, most years are material. That is to say, nutrition is usually insufficient. Long-term malnutrition will affect survival, so we need a good reason to eat something that we usually can't bear to eat. In addition, the third day of the third lunar month is the peak period for chickens to lay eggs, and there are many eggs, which are not expensive to buy. Therefore, we should "expand domestic demand" and eat some ourselves, killing two birds with one stone.

The real origin of cold food and chicken (egg) fighting in Tomb-Sweeping Day still owes to the custom of forbidding fire in some areas in the pre-Qin period. Cold food has been banned for many days, and boiled eggs are undoubtedly the best food reserve to survive this period. Moreover, the Qingming outing and boiled eggs are also portable foods. Pre-collision peeling will inevitably arouse children's interest in colliding with each other.

If we want to explore the symbolic significance of Tomb-Sweeping Day's eating eggs against eggs, we should also include people's awe and belief in life and fertility. In the ancient culture of China, the egg was a symbol of fertility and life. Legend has it that the epoch-making Pangu was conceived in an egg in which "heaven and earth are chaotic like a chicken, and Pangu was born" (Ivan Lei Ju). The ancestor of Shang Dynasty agreed that "a bird dropped its egg, a butterfly took it and swallowed it, and it was born of pregnancy" (Historical Records), and the great cause of the ancestor of Qin Dynasty was also "a bird conceived its egg and a woman swallowed it" to conceive (Historical Records). This is a folk custom. When a woman gives birth to a child, she brings good news to her neighbors and eight families. Aren't they eggs, too? Tomb-sweeping in Qingming Festival, among them, don't you also have the life consciousness of being cautious to the end? Spring is the season of life, and many folk customs coincide in the deep meaning of life.

It is said that eating eggs cooked at this time will not cause headaches for a year. How did this custom come down? Legend has it that the ancient Xiaogan area was a part of Yunmengze, a water town, and people made a living by fishing. Because people blow the lake breeze in the lake every day, they have headaches. One day, Shennong, who had tasted all kinds of herbs, passed Yunmengze and saw someone rolling on the lake beach because of a headache. Shennong sympathized with them and looked for herbs everywhere to treat their headaches. But nothing works. On the third day of March, Shennong picked up some wild eggs from the mountain, dug a handful of vegetables and brought them to the boat to cook for people to satisfy their hunger. People will suddenly feel headache after eating rice and scrambled eggs. Later, on the third day of March, I ate and cooked.

Eggs have become a custom and have continued to this day.

Eating eggs in Tomb-Sweeping Day is as important as eating zongzi on Dragon Boat Festival. Saving eggs can be roughly divided into two types, one is "painting eggs" and the other is "carving eggs". The former is edible, while the latter is just for enjoyment. However, there is also a saying that when sweeping the grave, the boiled eggs are broken on the tombstone and the eggshells are thrown on the grave, which symbolizes "shelling" and indicates a new life. I hope future generations will get there first.

April 5th in the Gregorian calendar is one of the traditional festivals in China, Tomb-Sweeping Day, with a history of more than 2,500 years. Besides sweeping graves to worship ancestors, Tomb-Sweeping Day's food customs are also rich and colorful.

Green jiaozi

During the Qingming Festival, Jiangnan has the custom of having a reunion dinner. Green jiaozi is to mash a wild plant called "Pulp Wheat Straw" to squeeze out juice, then mix this juice with dry pure glutinous rice flour, and then wrap it in jiaozi. Jiaozi's stuffing is exquisite sugar bean paste, and a small piece of sugar lard is added when filling. Jiaozi cooked it and steamed it in a cage. When they come out, brush the cooked vegetable oil evenly on the surface of jiaozi, and you're done.

The green ball is green as jade, waxy and soft, fragrant, sweet but not greasy, fat but not full. Youth League is also a necessary food for people to sacrifice their ancestors in Jiangnan area. Because of this, the Youth League is particularly important in the folk food customs in the south of the Yangtze River.

Eat prickly heat

Tomb-Sweeping Day has the custom of eating prickly heat in both north and south of China. "Zanzi" is a kind of fried food, crisp and delicate, and was called "cold ware" in ancient times. The custom of forbidding fire and cold in the Cold Food Festival is not popular in most parts of China, but the prickly heat related to this festival is deeply loved by the world.

The prickly heat that is popular in Han areas is different from the north and the south: the prickly heat in the north is generous and free, with wheat flour as the main material; The southern prickly heat is exquisitely made, mainly rice and flour. In ethnic minority areas, there are many kinds of prickly heat with different flavors, especially in Uygur, Dongxiang, Naxi and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Eat mustard

Mustard is an indispensable seasonal vegetable on the dining table in Tomb-Sweeping Day, Guangdong. Because it sounds the same as "sedan chair", it means that ancestors will go home in a sedan chair to avoid the pain of being warm and cold at first.

In Tomb-Sweeping Day, in the south of Shanxi, steamed buns made of walnuts, red dates and beans are called "Zifu", which is the blessing of ancestors. In northern Shanxi, people are used to eating corn bread and black bean sprouts. Before Yulin and Yan 'an festivals in northern Shaanxi, buns and noodles are needed. The steamed flour flowers are lifelike, like art treasures, which can be eaten by yourself or given to relatives and friends.

The traditional Tomb-Sweeping Day in China began in the Zhou Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,500 years. Because the days of Qingming and cold food are close, cold food is the day when people ban fire to sweep graves. Gradually, cold food and Qingming become one, and cold food has become another name of Qingming and a custom of Qingming period. Tomb-Sweeping Day doesn't move fireworks, but only eats cold food. Tomb-Sweeping Day, as the only solar term among the 24 solar terms, is related to the story of Mianshan meson push.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, the sons of Jin Xiangong of the State of Jin waged a fierce war for the throne. Jin Xiangong's second son, Zhong Er, lived in exile for 19 years to avoid killing each other. The courtiers of the State of Jin admired Zhong Er's character and gave their lives for him. At the most critical moment in Zhong Er, he cut his shares to serve you. The monarch and ministers often discuss the strategy of saving the country and governing the country together, and the relationship is harmonious. Zhong Er once said that if he can become a monarch in the future, he must repay Gong Jie's kindness. Later, with the help of the State of Qin, Zhong Er finally returned to the State of Jin and became the monarch of the State of Jin for Jin Wengong. After Jin Wengong's return to the motherland, ministers lavished banquets and rewarded meritorious deeds, but did not give any official position or reward to mesons who often made suggestions. Jie Zitui disdains interacting with the villains who flatter Jin Wengong all day, and he is even more disappointed that Jin Wengong will not implement Qingming politics after the restoration of the country. So I took my mother to Mianshan to live in seclusion.

Some people began to talk about Jin Wengong's ingratitude. He didn't need a good minister. Jin Wengong slowly heard these comments. He seemed to feel that he had done something wrong, so he quickly sent someone to ask Jean Tui, only to know that Jean Tui had gone to Mianshan to live in seclusion. In order to let liegeman know that he is not an ungrateful bad king, and to calm people's discussion, Jin Wengong is eager to find meson push. He led the minister to Mianshan to look for mesons. Wan Ren in Mianshan gully, rugged cliff and rugged mountain road, meson push can't be avoided, but meson push can't be found. Jin Wengong was anxious, but there was nothing he could do.

Jin Wengong's men also have their own ideas. Some people hope that meson will come back to help Jin Wengong rule the world, while others are afraid that meson will come back and get their favor. One of his men told Jin Wengong that Jiexiu was a dutiful son. Your Majesty sent someone to set fire to Mianshan. Jie tui is afraid of hurting mom, and I will definitely come out to see you. Jin Wengong, who lost his mind, longed to see meson, but he accepted the idea in a muddle and ordered people to set Mianshan on fire. It was mid-spring, the wind was dry, and fireworks swallowed up the whole Mianshan Mountain. The fire burned for several days, but there was no sign of meson push. After the fire was put out, it was discovered that meson would rather die than go out of the mountain, and had been burned to death with his mother under a big willow tree at the top of the mountain. Jin Wengong remembered meson's loyalty to himself and heartfelt words, holding the big willow tree that was burned to death, and couldn't help crying. He had his mother and son buried in the mountains and renamed Mianshan Jieshan. "I want to live a good life and be a good person." At the same time, it was ordered that fireworks and firecrackers should be banned nationwide on the anniversary of the death of meson Tui, that is, from winter to the future 105, and only cold food is allowed. This is a cold food festival to commemorate meson Tui.

On the second day of the Cold Food Festival, Jin Wengong went to Mianshan Meson to push the martyred willow down to pay homage, and found that new willow branches had grown on the burned willow. He recalled that meson said that he hoped to implement Qingming politics after the restoration and was deeply moved. He ordered the willow to be named Qingming Willow, and this day was named Tomb-Sweeping Day. From then on, Jin Wengong purged government affairs and developed production, and the State of Jin finally became strong and became one of the "five tyrants in the Spring and Autumn Period". With the increasing influence of the country, the Cold Food Festival and the customs of Tomb-Sweeping Day have become popular all over the country. Lv Xiang, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem: "The four seas share the same cold food, and there will be one person through the ages."

In fact, the custom of cold food originated from the ancient system of drilling wood for fire. Qingming, as a solar term, was also determined as early as the Zhou Dynasty. The Cold Food Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Day were only strengthened and passed down by the rulers in the form of state orders. Since then, with the passage of time, the custom of Cold Food Festival has gradually merged into Tomb-Sweeping Day. Tomb-Sweeping Day has become the only festival with humanistic history among the 24 solar terms, and it has gradually become a custom for people to remember the dead and offer sacrifices to their ancestors in Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Tomb-Sweeping Day is usually around April 5th in the Gregorian calendar, which is the biggest festival for ancestor worship in spring. Used to call it "Ghost Festival". There is a custom of sweeping graves and going for an outing in festivals. At that time, relatives of the deceased will go to the grave to cut off Cao Jing, offering sacrifices and burning paper money. Urban people go out for an outing. Festival activities include swinging, flying kites and tug-of-war.