Laiwu Qingming Festival Customs

Customs of Qingming in Laiwu are not different from other places, mostly: swinging, playing cuju, trekking, planting trees, flying kites

Swinging

This is an ancient Chinese custom of Qingming Festival. Swinging, meaning migrating by the leather rope. Its history is very ancient, the earliest called the thousand autumn, after in order to avoid taboos, changed to swing. In ancient times, the swing was mostly made of tree branches as a frame, and then tied with colorful ribbons. Later, it gradually developed into a swing with two ropes and a pedal. Swinging can not only improve health, but also cultivate the spirit of bravery, and is still loved by people, especially children.

Cuju

Cuju is a kind of leather ball, made of leather and stuffed with wool. Cuju is to kick the ball with the foot. It is a favorite game in ancient times during the Qingming Festival. It is said to have been invented by the Yellow Emperor, and its original purpose was to train warriors. Playing polo is also one of the plays of Dragon Boat Festival. Polo, which is played on a horse with a stick, was called bowing in ancient times.

The Three Kingdoms Cao Zhi "name of the city" in the sentence "even hit the bow border". Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty, there is a wide field, Emperor Xuanzong, Jingzong and other emperors like polo.

Tomb of Prince Zhanghuai in the "Polo", painted the prosperity of polo in the Tang dynasty: painting, more than 20 horses galloped, horse tail tied up, the ball player head 幞巾, foot boots, holding the ball staff by the ball hit each other. Analyzing the Jin Zhi records that Liao played polo as a traditional custom of the festival, in the Dragon Boat Festival and the 9th day of the 9th lunar month. Jin Shi - Rites of the record also recorded Jin people in the Dragon Boat Festival. Song dynasty "playing ball music" dance team. To the Ming Dynasty, polo is still popular.

"Renewal of the literature Tongkao - music," recorded in the Ming Emperor Chengzu had several times to the East Garden batting, shooting willow. Ming Dynasty "Xuanzong Xingle Tu" scroll painted in the Xuanzong appreciate the scene of polo. Wang Zhi, an official at that time, wrote a poem about watching the ball on the Dragon Boat Festival: "Jade Le Thousand Gold Horses, Carved Seven Treasures Ball. The ball is carved with seven jewels." The ball flies with lightning, and the stars flow with excitement. The ball was played in three games, and the first one was played in one game. The clouds of celebration follow the feet of the escapee and dazzle the east end of the temple."

Beijing Baiyunguan also before the mass of horseback riding batting ceremony. In the Qing Dynasty, there was also polo around the Temple of Heaven, until after the middle of the Qing Dynasty, polo disappeared. 1965 began to appear in Xi'an City, the antique polo sport, so that this ancient sport in the extinction of many years after the reappearance of the Chinese land. Nowadays, soccer is a variation of cuju.

Trekking

Trekking is also called spring tour. In ancient times, it was called exploring spring, searching for spring, and so on. April clearing, spring back to the earth, nature everywhere presents a vibrant scene, it is a great time for excursions.

Tree planting

Before and after the Qingming Festival, the spring sun shines and the spring rain falls, planting saplings with a high survival rate and fast growth. Therefore, since ancient times, China has the custom of planting trees at Qingming. Some people also call the Qingming Festival "Tree Planting Day". The custom of planting trees has been passed down to this day.

The custom of planting trees on Qingming Day began with the custom of wearing a willow on Qingming. There are three kinds of legends about the willow planting at Qingming. The oldest legend says that it is in honor of Shennong, the ancestor who taught people how to gather crops and farm, and later developed the meaning of praying for longevity. A later legend is related to Jie Zi Tui. It is said that when Duke Wen of Jin led his ministers to climb the mountain to pay homage to Jie Zi Tui, he found that the old willow tree that Jie Zi Tui had leaned on before his death had risen from the dead, so he gave the old willow tree the name of "Qingming Willow". A later legend has it that Emperor Tang Taizong gave his minister a willow circle to show his blessing and drive away epidemics.

Flying kites

Flying kites is also a favorite activity during the Qingming Festival, when people not only fly them during the day, but also at night. At night, a string of small colorful lanterns are hung under the kite or on the wind steady pulling line, like flickering stars, which are called "divine lanterns". In the past, some people put the kite on the blue sky, they cut the line, let the wind send them to the end of the world, it is said that this can eliminate diseases and bring good luck to themselves.