Customs of the Cold Food Festival

The customs of the Cold Food Festival include paying homage to ancestors, steaming cold swallows, planting willows, trekking, and singing poems.

1. Ancestor worship

Sweeping tombs and paying homage to ancestors on the cold food festival was regarded as a "wild festival" from the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty. Tang Dynasty into the "Kaiyuan Rites" "Volume 87 - Wang Gong following the worship and sweeping (cold food worship and sweeping attached)", became the official recognition and advocate of one of the auspicious rites. Later, it evolved into the royal mausoleum; the government sacrificed to the temple of Confucius and sages; and the people went to their graves.

2, steaming cold swallow

Cold Food Festival, folk custom to steam cold swallow to celebrate, with flour pinched into a thumb in general, swallow, songbirds and beasts, fruits and flowers, etc., after steaming coloring, inserted in the jujube tree on top of the needles, decorating the interior, but also as a gift to others.

3, insert willow

Willow for the Cold Food Festival symbols of the original nostalgia jiezi push the pursuit of political clarity. As early as in the North and South Dynasties, "Jing Chu chronicle" on the "Jianghuai cold food day family folding willow plug door" record, Anhui, Suzhou and other places are also prevalent in wearing mustard flowers, wheat leaves to replace the willow branch.

4, trekking

Trekking, also known as spring tour, spring, spring. In the spring when the flowers and grasses are green, people go to the countryside in groups to trek. China's custom of trekking has a long history, the legend has been formed as far away as the pre-Qin Dynasty, "Jin Shu" records, every spring, people have to partner to the countryside to enjoy the scenery of the spring to the Tang and Song dynasties are the most prevalent.

5, poetry

In the Cold Food Festival, the literati and writers either miss their loved ones, or to express their feelings through the scenery, a lot of emotion, inspiration, or poetry. According to the "All Tang Poetry" record of Tang Xuanzong, Du Fu, Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan and other celebrities to create poems about the cold food festival, have enriched the life of the literati entertainment.