When is Tomb-Sweeping Day in the lunar calendar every year?
Every year in Tomb-Sweeping Day, the solar calendar shall prevail, not on a fixed day, but at a fixed time period. Tomb-Sweeping Day is usually around April 5th, the first15th day after the vernal equinox.
Tomb-Sweeping Day has a long history, which is both a solar term and a festival. The formation of festival customs is closely related to the characteristics of solar terms at this time. Solar terms provide a prerequisite for festivals. Tomb-Sweeping Day is one of the 24 solar terms in China, which lasts from the winter to the108th day in the future, that is, around April 5th in the solar calendar. Twenty-four solar terms are the climate laws formulated by ancient people according to the change of the earth's position on the ecliptic, which objectively reflect the changes of temperature, phenology and rainfall in four seasons and have indispensable guiding significance for people to arrange agricultural production activities on time.
After Tomb-Sweeping Day, the temperature became warmer, the rain increased, and the earth showed a beautiful scene of spring. At this time, everything, whether it is the vegetation in nature or the human body in natural places, has changed the filth in winter, ushered in the breath of spring and realized the transformation from yin to yang. Therefore, Qingming is an important solar term in ancient agricultural production. As a festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day is different from pure solar terms. Solar terms are symbols of phenological changes and seasonal order in China, while festivals contain certain customs and activities, which have certain commemorative significance.
The origin of Tomb-Sweeping Day's grave-sweeping and ancestor-worship ceremony is related to the humanistic and natural cultural contents such as belief, sacrifice, calendar and solar terms. Tomb-Sweeping Day Qi provides important conditions for the formation of Tomb-Sweeping Day customs in terms of time and meteorological phenology, and this solar term is considered as one of the origins of Tomb-Sweeping Day. During the Qingming Festival, the earth is full of spring, yin and yang are transformed, the old and the new are forgotten, and everything is clean and tidy, which is a good time for the Spring Festival. At the same time, outing in the suburbs is also the solar term theme of the ancients. In ancient times, agriculture was the main business of traditional society. In order to have a good harvest in agriculture, besides praying for good weather, we have to pray for the blessing of our ancestors. Moreover, China people have been polite and respectful to their ancestors since ancient times, and they are also cautious in their pursuit of the future. Therefore, the tradition of the Spring Festival was gradually formed during the Qingming period. Through historical development, Tomb-Sweeping Day has absorbed and integrated the customs of Cold Food Festival and Shangsi Festival, which has extremely rich cultural connotations.
Besides sweeping graves, what other customs are there in Tomb-Sweeping Day?
spring outing
Going for an outing in spring, also known as "going for a spring outing", generally refers to going for a walk in the suburbs in early spring. During my stay in Tomb-Sweeping Day, I went to nature to enjoy and appreciate the spring scenery, and went hiking in the suburbs. This kind of outing is also called spring outing. In ancient times, it was called spring exploration. It means stepping on the grass, playing in the country and watching the scenery in spring. This seasonal folk activity, outing, has a long history in China, and its source is the ancient Spring Festival custom of farming sacrifice. This Spring Festival custom of farming sacrifice has a far-reaching influence on later generations.
At the time of Qingming, it is spring that returns to the earth. People take advantage of the opportunity of sweeping graves and have fun in mountainous areas and rural areas. During their stay in Tomb-Sweeping Day, some people went to nature to enjoy and appreciate the vibrant spring scenery, and went hiking in the suburbs to express their depression since the severe winter. Tomb-Sweeping Day is a good time to go for an outing, so it has become an important part of Tomb-Sweeping Day customs. Walking is an ancient theme of Tomb-Sweeping Day and Spring Festival.
Chuanliuzhi
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 is said that the custom of inserting willow is related to avoiding epidemic. The Tang people thought that wearing willow branches when offering sacrifices by the river could drive away the harm of poisonous insects. After the Song and Yuan Dynasties, people often planted willows in front of their homes to avoid pests. This is because the climate gets warmer in spring, and all kinds of germs begin to multiply. In the case of poor medical conditions, people can only hope to avoid epidemics. Willow branches planted under the eaves can also predict the weather. As the old saying goes: "Willow branches are green and rainy; The wicker is dead and the weather is fine. "
please oneself
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, cuju, etc., which were all the rage for a while, but are rare now.
plant trees
Before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day, the spring was bright and the spring rain was falling, and the survival rate of planted seedlings was high and the growth was fast. Therefore, China has the habit of planting trees in Qingming since ancient times. Some people even call Tomb-Sweeping Day Arbor Day. The custom of planting trees has been passed down to this day.
a rat race
Tug of war was called "tug of war" in the early days and "strong hook" in the Tang Dynasty. It was invented at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, which became popular in the military and later spread among the people. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, a large tug-of-war was held in Tomb-Sweeping Day. Since then, tug-of-war has become a part of the Qingming custom.
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.
Pan Rongbi, a writer in A Qing, wrote in "Ji Sheng at the Age of Emperor Jingdi": "When sweeping graves in Qingming Festival, men and women in the whole city flocked out from the suburbs, carrying boxes and wheels facing each other. Everyone brings a kite spool, and it will be better to put it in front of the grave after the sacrifice. " The ancients also thought that the Qingming wind was very suitable for flying kites. Jia Qinglu said: "The wind of spring is from bottom to top, and kites rise because of it, so there is a proverb" Clear and clear ". "In ancient times, flying kites was not only an entertainment activity, but also an act of witchcraft: they thought flying kites could release their bad breath. Therefore, when flying kites in Tomb-Sweeping Day, many people will write all the disasters they know on paper kites. When the kite flies high, they cut the kite string and let the kite float away with the wind, symbolizing that their illness and dirty air have been taken away by the kite.
play on the swing
Swing is a custom in ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day, China. Swing, that is, lift the rope, move. It has a very long history, originally called Qian Qiu, and later changed to swing. In ancient times, swings were made of branches and tied with ribbons. Later, it gradually developed into two ropes, a pedal swing. Swing can not only improve health, but also cultivate brave spirit, which has always been loved by people, especially children.
Swing plays were popular in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The Chronicle of Jingchu records: "In spring, a long rope hangs on a big tree, and a scholar and a woman sit on it and push it, which is called swinging." Swing was a very common game in the Tang Dynasty, and it became an important part of Tomb-Sweeping Day customs. Because swings can be seen everywhere in Tomb-Sweeping Day, Tomb-Sweeping Day was designated as a swing festival in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and swings were also installed in palaces for queens, concubines and maids to play with. Today's parks and playgrounds still have swings for children to play with.
Liu She
Shooting willow is a game to practice archery. Tie a wisp of red silk on a slender swaying willow branch, which is the target of being shot. Most of them are young people, riding horses and holding bows. A hundred paces away, they shot down the wicker with a special arrow with a forked front end. Pegasus caught the wicker before it landed. According to the records of the Ming Dynasty, shooting willow is to put pigeons in a gourd, then hang the gourd high on the willow tree, shoot the gourd with a bow, and the pigeon flies out, and judge the victory or defeat by the flying height of the flying pigeon.
play football
Bow is a rubber ball, the skin of which is made of leather, and the ball is stuffed with wool. Cuju is kicking the ball with your feet. This is a popular game in ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day. Cuju, the predecessor of China football, is made of leather and stuffed with wool.