On Tomb-Sweeping Day's Traditional Culture

The traditional culture of Tomb-Sweeping Day is as follows:

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, and Tomb-Sweeping Day's grave-sweeping and ancestor worship became a continuous festival tradition.

2. Go for an outing. Qingming Festival is the time when spring returns to the earth. People took advantage of the opportunity of sweeping graves, and the whole family, old and young, enjoyed themselves in Shan Ye. When they got home, they broke some branches and put them on their heads. They were very happy. During their stay in Tomb-Sweeping Day, some people deliberately went to the nature to appreciate and experience the vibrant spring scenery, and went for an outing in the suburbs, which was called exploring spring and seeking spring in ancient times.

3. Insert the 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. It may also be related to the custom of using willow branches to beg for new fire in the past cold food festival.

4. Pull the 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.

5. Fly a kite. Flying kites is one of people's favorite activities in Tomb-Sweeping Day. The ancients believed that if someone was sick, they could write down or draw their illness on the kite, tie the kite in the air with a string, let it fly to the sky, cut the cable, and the disease disaster would fly away with the kite. Later, kites gradually developed into a popular outing entertainment.

6. swing. Swing was originally called "Qian Qiu". According to legend, the swing was introduced by Qi Huangong, a native of Shanrong, a northern ethnic group in the Spring and Autumn Period, and became a folk game in Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival and Cold Food Festival after the Han Dynasty. At first, the swing was made of rope and swung by hand. Later, it developed into a wooden frame with two ropes hanging on it and a cross board tied under it.