What are the traditional customs in Tomb-Sweeping Day and Tomb-Sweeping Day?

1, sweeping graves to worship ancestors

In the history of China, it has long been a custom to eat cold food, forbid fire and pay homage to ancestors. After the Tang Dynasty, the Cold Food Festival gradually declined, so it became a continuous festival tradition for Tomb-Sweeping Day to sweep graves to worship ancestors. In today's society, before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, people still have the custom of paying homage to their ancestors: uprooting weeds, placing offerings, burning incense and praying at the grave, burning paper money and gold ingots, or simply offering a bunch of flowers to express their memory of their ancestors.

Step 2 go for an outing

Tomb-Sweeping Day is a good time to go for an outing, so it has become an important part of Tomb-Sweeping Day customs. Ancient women could not go out casually on weekdays, and it was a rare opportunity for Tomb-Sweeping Day to visit the grave. Therefore, in Tomb-Sweeping Day, women have more fun than men, and there is a folk saying called "Women's Qingming Year".

Step 3 insert willow

Tomb-Sweeping Day is the time when willows sprout and smoke is green. There are folk customs of folding willow, piercing willow and inserting willow. When people go out for an outing, they break off some wicker branches, which can be played with in their hands, woven into hats and worn on their heads, or taken home and inserted on the lintels and eaves. The custom of inserting willow is related to avoiding epidemic.

Step 4 entertain

In addition to the above-mentioned custom of sweeping graves to worship ancestors, walking in the green and inserting willows, there are a lot of entertainment habits in Tomb-Sweeping Day that have been loved by people for thousands of years, such as hooking, flying kites, swinging, shooting willows, cùjū, etc., which were all the rage for a while, but are rare now.

5. Traction hook

"Hook" is an ancient name, but it is actually a modern tug of war. According to legend, in the Spring and Autumn Period, in order to attack the State of Wu, the State of Chu used the hook movement to enhance people's physique. It is mainly based on a hemp rope, and its two ends are divided into many small ropes. In the competition, a big flag is the boundary. At the command, the two sides pulled the rope hard, and the drums sounded with the music. The two sides cheered and shouted, which was very lively.