What are the customs in Tomb-Sweeping Day?

The customs in Tomb-Sweeping Day include hiking, planting trees, flying kites, sweeping graves to worship ancestors, inserting willows, tug-of-war, swinging, cockfighting, shooting willows and cuju.

1, outing

The Chinese nation has had the custom of going for an outing in Qingming since ancient times. At the turn of mid-spring and late spring, Tomb-Sweeping Day is full of spring and everything is full of vitality. It is a traditional custom handed down from ancient times to pay homage to ancestors and go hiking at this time.

2. plant trees?

Before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, the spring was bright and the spring rain was falling, and the survival rate of planted seedlings was high and the growth was fast. So there is a habit of planting trees in Tomb-Sweeping Day, and some people call Tomb-Sweeping Day Arbor Day. The custom of planting trees has been passed down to this day. The custom of planting trees in Tomb-Sweeping Day is said to have originated from the custom of crossing willows and inserting willows in Qingming Festival.

Step 3 fly a kite

Kites are also called "paper kites" and "kites". Flying kites is the most popular activity in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Kite is an aircraft that sticks paper or silk with bamboo strips and other skeletons, pulls a long line on it, and drops it into the sky under the action of wind. It belongs to an aircraft that only uses aerodynamic force.

4. Sweeping graves to worship ancestors

The custom of sweeping graves to worship ancestors has a long history, dating back to the pre-Qin period. Due to different ancient customs, some places are not necessarily on the occasion of Qingming.

Step 5 insert willow

Tomb-Sweeping Day and China have the folk custom of inserting willows. People in the Tang Dynasty believed that wearing willow branches when offering sacrifices by the river on March 3 could get rid of the harm of poisonous insects. After the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the custom of inserting willows in Tomb-Sweeping Day was very popular. When people come back from an outing, they stay at home to avoid insects.

6. Tug of War

Tug of war was called "tug of war" in the early days and "strong hook" in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that it was invented at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, which began to prevail in the military and later spread among the people. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, a large tug-of-war was held in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Since then, tug-of-war has become a part of the Qingming custom. ?

Step 7 swing

Swing is one of the customs of ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day in China. Wang Renyu's "Kaiyuan Tianbao Legacy" in the Five Dynasties recorded that "the Tianbao Palace Mid-solstice Cold Food Festival actually erected a swing, which made the wives and concubines in the palace laugh and thought it was a feast.

8. cockfighting

In ancient times, cockfighting competitions prevailed in Qingming, which began in Qingming and lasted until the summer solstice. The earliest record of cockfighting in China can be found in Zuo Zhuan. In the Tang Dynasty, cockfighting became a common practice, not only among the people, but also among the emperors. For example, Tang Xuanzong likes cockfighting best.

9. shoot willow trees

Shooting willow is a game to practice archery. According to the records of the Ming Dynasty, pigeons were placed in gourds, then the gourds were hung high on willow trees, and the gourds and pigeons flew out with bows, and the victory or defeat was judged by the height of the flying pigeons.

10, cuju

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 the favorite game of northerners in ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day. According to legend, it was invented by the Yellow Emperor with the original purpose of training warriors. Polo is riding a horse and hitting with a stick. In ancient times, it was called bowing.