What are the customs of the people of Jingning County regarding Qingming Festival?

In addition to banning fires and sweeping tombs, the customs of Qingming Festival also include a series of customary sports activities such as outing, swinging, Cuju, playing polo, and planting willows. According to legend, this is because cold food and fire are forbidden during the Cold Food Festival. In order to prevent cold food from harming the body, everyone comes to participate in some sports activities to exercise. During Qingming Festival, people are prohibited from using needles or washing clothes, and women in most areas are prohibited from walking. Before evening, a gray line should be sprinkled in front of the door. It is said that it can prevent ghosts from entering the house. Therefore, in this festival, there are not only the sad and sad tears of paying respects to new graves, but also the laughter of outings. It is a unique festival.

Swinging:

This is an ancient Chinese Qingming Festival custom. Swing means moving by holding on to the leather rope. It has a very ancient history. It was first called Qianqiu, but later was changed to Swing to avoid taboos. In ancient times, swings were mostly made of tree branches and tied with colorful ribbons. Later, it gradually developed into a swing with two ropes and pedals. Swinging can not only improve health, but also cultivate bravery. It is still loved by people, especially children.

Cuju:

Cuju is a ball made of leather and stuffed with hair. Cuju means kicking a ball with your feet. This is a game that people loved during the Qingming Festival in ancient times. According to legend, it was invented by the Yellow Emperor, and its original purpose was to train warriors. Playing polo is also one of the Dragon Boat Festival dramas. Polo is played by riding on a horse and holding a stick. It was called Juju in ancient times. There is a sentence in "Famous Capitals" written by Cao Zhi of the Three Kingdoms: "Strike the soil continuously". In Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty, there was a large stadium, and emperors such as Xuanzong and Jingzong were all fond of polo. The "Polo Picture" in the tomb of Prince Zhanghuai depicts the prosperity of polo in the Tang Dynasty: in the picture, more than 20 horses are galloping, their tails are tied up, and the player wears a scarf on his head, boots on his feet, and holds a ball. The sticks hit each other ball by ball. "Analysis of Jinzhi" records that the Liao Dynasty regarded polo as a traditional festival custom, and played polo on the Dragon Boat Festival and Double Ninth Festival. "History of the Jin Dynasty·Li Zhi" also records that the Jin people hit the ball on the Dragon Boat Festival. In the Song Dynasty, there was a "playing ball" dance team. By the Ming Dynasty, polo was still popular.

"Xu Wen Tong Kao Le Kao" records that Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty went to Dongyuan several times to hit balls and shoot willows. The long scroll "Xuanzong's Polo Pictures" in the Ming Dynasty shows the scene of Xuanzong enjoying polo. Wang Zhi, an official at that time, wrote a poem about watching basketball on the Dragon Boat Festival: "A thousand-gold horse with jade and a seven-treasure ball with carved inscriptions. Flying in the sky is startled by lightning, and Fu Fen is aware of the stars. The fire page has achieved three victories, and Huanzhuan is the first." Qingyun followed Yi's footsteps and circled the east end of the hall. "There is also a mass horseback riding ceremony in front of Baiyun Temple in Beijing. Polo was also played around the Temple of Heaven in the Qing Dynasty, but it did not disappear until the middle of the Qing Dynasty. Since 1965, antique polo has appeared in Xi'an City, making this ancient sport reappear in China after being extinct for many years.

Outing:

Also called spring outing. In ancient times, it was called Tanchun, Xunchun, etc. On the Qingming Festival in April, spring returns to the earth, and the natural world presents a vibrant scene everywhere. It is a great time for outings. Chinese people have long maintained the habit of going outing during the Qingming Festival.

Tree planting:

Before and after the Qingming Festival, when the spring sun shines and the spring rain falls, the survival rate of planted saplings is high and they grow quickly. Therefore, China has had the habit of planting trees during Qingming Festival since ancient times. Some people also call Qingming Festival "Arbor Day". The custom of planting trees has been passed down to this day.

The custom of planting trees during the Qingming Festival originated from the custom of wearing willows and inserting willows during the Qingming Festival. There are three legends about wearing willows and planting willows during the Qingming Festival. The oldest legend is that it was to commemorate Shennong, the ancestor who taught people how to farm. Later, it developed the meaning of praying for longevity. A later legend is related to Jie Zitui. It is said that when Duke Wen of Jin led his ministers to climb a mountain to pay homage to Jie Zitui, they found that the old willow tree that Jie Zitui had leaned on before his death came back to life, so he gave the old willow tree the name "Qingming Willow". A later legend is that Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty gave willow rings to ministers as a blessing to drive away epidemics.

Kite flying:

Kite flying is also a favorite activity during the Qingming Festival. During the Qingming Festival, people not only play during the day but also at night. At night, a string of small colorful lanterns are hung under the kite or on the wind-stabilizing wire, like twinkling stars, and are called "magic lanterns." In the past, some people would cut the strings after flying kites into the blue sky and let the breeze carry them to the ends of the earth. It is said that this can eliminate diseases and disasters and bring good luck to themselves.

Grave-sweeping:

Sweeping tombs during the Qingming Festival is called "respecting the times" for ancestors. Its custom has a long history. "On the Scenery of the Imperial Capital" of the Ming Dynasty records: "On Qingming Day in the third month, men and women sweep tombs, carry bamboo poles, hang ingots on the backs of sedans and horses, and the streets are full of charm. People worship, pray, cry, and weed and add soil to the tomb. , burn ingots, and place paper money on the grave. If there is no paper money in sight, the grave will be lonely. After crying, you will go to the fragrant tree, sit in the garden, and get drunk. "In fact, tomb-sweeping existed before the Qin Dynasty. , but not necessarily during the Qingming Festival. Tomb-sweeping during the Qingming Festival was a matter after the Qin Dynasty. It did not become popular until the Tang Dynasty. And it has been passed down to this day.

The Qingming Festival sweeping ceremony should be held in person at the tomb site. However, because each family’s economic and other conditions are different, the method of sweeping the memorial ceremony is also different. "Burning baggage" is the main form of paying homage to ancestors. The so-called "baggage", also known as "package", refers to the parcel sent by filial piety from the Yang world to the "underworld". In the past, Nanzhi Store sold so-called "furoshiki", which was a large bag made of white paper. There are two forms: one is to use a woodblock board to print the Sanskrit transliteration of the "Rebirth Mantra" around it, and print a rosette tablet in the middle to write the area code and the name of the deceased, such as: "The late Zhang Fujun said: The words "Sir Shan Lao" are both a postal package and a tablet.

The other type is plain furoshiki, which does not have any pattern printed on it. It only has a blue label stuck in the middle and the name of the deceased can be written on it. Also used as main card. There are many types of money in the baggage.

Inserting willows:

On Qingming Festival, Chinese people have the custom of inserting willows. Experts said that there are generally three theories about the origin of the custom of inserting willows during the Qingming Festival.

Zhao Zhiheng, director of the Tianjin Astronomical Society, said that it is said that the custom of planting willows is to commemorate the founder of agriculture, Shennong, who "taught the people to farm". In some places, people put willow branches under the eaves to predict the weather. There is an old proverb that "willow branches are green when it rains; when willow branches are dry, the sky is sunny." Willows have strong vitality. As the saying goes: "If you plant flowers intentionally, they will not bloom, but if you plant willows unintentionally, they will create shade." Willow sticks will live when they are inserted into the soil.

There is another saying about planting willows during Qingming Festival: Chinese people regard Qingming Festival, the first half of July and the first day of October as the three major ghost festivals. Qingming Festival is a time when hundreds of ghosts appear frequently and demand a lot of money. Influenced by Buddhism, Avalokitesvara holds a willow branch and dips it in water to save all living beings. Many people believe that willow branches can exorcise ghosts and ward off evil spirits, and they call willow branches "ghost-terrible trees." Jia Sixie of the Northern Wei Dynasty wrote in "Essentials of Qi Min": "Put willow branches on your door, and all ghosts will not enter your home." Since Qingming is the Ghost Festival, when willows germinate, people have planted willows to ward off evil spirits.

Another theory is that this custom is to commemorate Jie Zitui. Jie Zitui burned himself under a big willow tree in order to keep his moral integrity, which made Duke Wen of Jin and his officials and people deeply saddened. The next year, when Duke Wen of Jin led his officials to climb the mountain to worship Jie Zitui, they found that the old willow tree that had been burned had come back to life. Duke Wen of Jin immediately named the old willow tree "Qingming Willow" and broke off a few willow branches on the spot and put them on his head to express his memory. From then on, ministers and common people followed suit one after another, and it became a common practice. Planting willows and wearing willows during the Qingming Festival has become a symbol to commemorate Jie Zitui.