I would like to know the origin of the "Cold Food Festival" and the related customs.

The origin of the Cold Food Festival

During the Spring and Autumn Period, when Prince Chong Er of the State of Jin fled the country and lived a hard life, Jie Zi Pui, who followed him, went so far as to cut a piece of meat from his own leg to let him feed himself. Later, when Chong Er returned to Jin, he became the king of the state (i.e. Duke Wen of Jin) and rewarded his meritorious ministers. Only Jie Zi Tui refused to accept the reward.

He took his mother to live in seclusion in Mianshan Mountain and refused to come out. Duke Wen of Jin had no choice but to set fire to the mountain to force him to come down. But Jie Zi Tui's mother and son refused to come out even if they were burned to death. In order to honor the memory of Jie Zi Tui, Duke Wen of Jin ordered to rename Mian Shan as Jie Shan, and to build a temple and a monument. At the same time, he also ordered that on the day of Jie Zi Tui's death, "cold food is forbidden", and the whole country was not allowed to burn fire to cook food, but only to eat dry food and cold food.

Ancient people are very revered mesoteric temperament, "cold food ban on fire" custom, was passed down by later generations, the formation of the cold food festival this special commemorative holiday. Folklore experts say, before the Han Dynasty, the cold food festival ban on fire for a longer period of time, to a month. Eating cold food for a whole month was really unfavorable to the body, and it was changed to 3 days in Han Dynasty.

The cold food festival started from the Jin Dynasty, continued for many years, in the middle of a strict ban on the practice of cold food, such as Cao Cao in the Three Kingdoms period. However, it did not last long, and the wind of "forbidding fire on cold food" emerged spontaneously in the folklore.

Second, the festival customs

1, smoke-free cold food

Cold Food Festival in ancient times, also known as the "Festival of Smoke-free", the family banned the fire, all eat cold food. But because of the people of the country after compassionate feelings of perseverance, from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the North and South Dynasties repeatedly banned repeatedly Xing, the Tang Dynasty, the Royal recognition and participation.

2, worship: Cold Food Festival Tomb Sweeping ancestor

People go to the graves of a family or a clan with the ancestor's grave, to the sacrifice, add soil, hanging paper money, and then the son of the Push Yan, Snake Plate rabbit scattered on the top of the grave rolled down, with a willow branch or wart needle threaded, placed in the room in the high, intended to dip the ancestor's virtue and zephyr.

3, cold food and drink

cold food food, including cold food porridge, cold food noodles, cold food syrup, green rice and molasses, etc.; cold food offerings have noodles Yan, Snake Plate rabbit, date cakes, fine barley, God, etc.; drinks, spring wine, new tea, spring water and dozens of kinds of more.

4, the cold food insertion of willow

Willow for the Cold Food Festival symbols of the original nostalgia for the pursuit of political clarity in the meaning of the push.

5, cold food trekking

Also called spring trekking, flourished in the Tang and Song dynasties.

6, cold food swing

Swing originally for the ancient cold food festival court women's amusement projects.