What are the customs in Tomb-Sweeping Day?

Qingming is the fifth of the 24 solar terms and the beginning of the calendar. Tomb-Sweeping Day, also known as the outing festival, according to the solar calendar, between April 4th and 6th every year, it is the season of beautiful spring and lush vegetation, and it is also a good time for people to have a spring outing, so the ancients had the custom of going for an outing in Qingming and carrying out a series of sports activities.

1, sweeping the grave

Tomb-Sweeping Day's grave-sweeping, which means "grave-sweeping sacrifice", is a "respect for time and thought" for ancestors. Sacrificing ancestors is a way of remembering ancestors, and its custom has a long history. Tomb-Sweeping Day is a cultural tradition of paying homage to his ancestors and pursuing the future with caution, mainly offering sacrifices to his ancestors and expressing his filial piety and yearning for them.

Grave-sweeping, originally a custom of cold food in Tomb-Sweeping Day the day before (or three days before Tomb-Sweeping Day), gradually merged with Tomb-Sweeping Day in the Tang Dynasty and became a custom in Tomb-Sweeping Day, calling it "the time of thinking" for ancestors.

Step 2 go for an outing

The Chinese nation has had the custom of going for an outing in Qingming since ancient times. In ancient times, it was called spring outing, spring seeking and so on. Spring outing, also known as spring outing, refers to going for a walk in the suburbs in early spring. Outing, a seasonal folk activity, has a long history in China, and its source is the ancient Spring Festival custom of farming sacrifice, which has a far-reaching influence on later generations. There are both solar terms and festivals in Tomb-Sweeping Day, and the atmosphere in Tomb-Sweeping Day provides important conditions for the formation of the Qingming outing custom in terms of time and meteorological phenology. During the Qingming Festival, spring returns to the earth, and nature presents a vibrant scene everywhere, which is a good time to go for an outing. People use the opportunity of sweeping graves to have fun with their families in mountainous areas and rural areas.

Step 3 fly a kite

Kites are also called "paper kites" and "kites". Flying kites is the most popular activity in Tomb-Sweeping Day. During their stay in Tomb-Sweeping Day, people not only wore it during the day, but also at night. At night, a string of colored lanterns is hung under the kite or on the wind-stabilizing stay, like twinkling stars, which is called "magic lamp". Someone used to put kites in the blue sky, then cut the strings and let the breeze send them to the ends of the earth. It is said that this can eliminate diseases and disasters and bring good luck to yourself.

Step 4 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. So there is a habit of planting trees in Tomb-Sweeping Day, and some people call Tomb-Sweeping Day Arbor Day. The custom of planting trees has been passed down to this day. The custom of planting trees in Tomb-Sweeping Day is said to have originated from the custom of crossing willows and inserting willows in Qingming Festival.

Step 5 insert willow

It is said that the custom of inserting willows is also to commemorate Shennong, the ancestor of farming. In some places, people put willow branches under the eaves to forecast the weather. There is also a saying that China people regard Tomb-Sweeping Day, July 30th and the first day of October as the three major Halloween festivals. When ghosts haunt and ask for help, people try to stop ghosts from harassing and persecuting them. Tomb-Sweeping Day is a ghost festival. When wicker sprouted, people naturally inserted willows to ward off evil spirits.

Step 6 swing

Swing is one of the customs of ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day in China. Swing has a very long history. It was originally called Qian Qiu, but later it was changed to a swing to avoid taboos. 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 courage, which is deeply loved by people, especially children.

7. Cuju

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 the favorite game of northerners in ancient Tomb-Sweeping Day. According to legend, it was invented by the Yellow Emperor with the original purpose of training warriors. There were polo in the Temple of Heaven in Qing Dynasty, and polo didn't disappear until the middle of Qing Dynasty.

8. silkworm flower festival

"Silkworm Flower Festival" is a unique folk culture in Silkworm Township. During the past period in Tomb-Sweeping Day, this folk activity was held in Wu Tong, Wuzhen, Chongfu and Zhouquan. Among them, Aśvaghoṣa Temple in Zhouquan and Double Temple in Qingshi are the most spectacular. Aśvaghoṣa Temple, located in the west of Zhouquan Town, is known locally as "the king of temples". Every year, there are many activities, such as welcoming the silkworm god, rocking the clippers, making trouble in Taiwan Pavilion, worshiping incense benches, boxing, playing dragon lanterns, lifting poles and singing operas. Some of these activities are carried out on shore, and most of them are carried out on ships, which is very characteristic of water towns.

Qingming, Qingming and idyllic scenery are good, that is to say, starting from Tomb-Sweeping Day, people will walk out of the cold shadow of winter and enter the world of spring.