When is Qingming Festival and what are its customs?
Introduction: Our country is a typical traditional country, so it has many folk cultural festivals and customs, and Qingming Festival is one of them. So when is Qingming Festival and what are the customs of Qingming Festival? Let’s follow the editor to find out. March is the last month of spring, which will bring all things back to life and start a beautiful growth process. The third month of the lunar calendar is a time full of vitality because it is the most beautiful.When is Qingming Festival?Qingming Festival, also known as the outing festival, is held at the turn of mid-spring and late spring, which is the 108th day after the winter solstice. It is a traditional Chinese festival and one of the most important festivals for worshipping ancestors. It is a day for worshipping ancestors and sweeping tombs. The traditional Qingming Festival of the Chinese nation began around the Zhou Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,500 years.Qingming was originally just the name of a solar term. It became a festival to commemorate ancestors and was related to the Cold Food Festival. Duke Wen of Jin designated the day after Cold Food Festival as Qingming Festival. In most areas of Shanxi, the Cold Food Festival is celebrated the day before Qingming Festival; in Yushe County and other places, the Cold Food Festival is celebrated two days before Qingming Festival; Yanqu County also celebrates the day before Qingming Festival as Cold Food Festival, and the two days before as Minor Cold Food Festival. Qingming Festival is one of China's important "Eight Annual Festivals". It is usually around April 5th of the Gregorian calendar. The festival period is very long. There are two sayings: 8 days before and 10 days after the 10th day of the 10th day, and 10 days before and 10 days after the 10th day of the 10th day. These nearly 20 days are all Qingming Festival. Qingming Festival originally refers to the fifteenth day after the spring equinox. In 1935, the government of the Republic of China designated April 5 as a national holiday Qingming Festival, also known as the National Tomb-Sweeping Festival. What are the customs of Qingming Festival?SwingThis is the custom of Qingming Festival in ancient China. Wang Renyu of the Five Dynasties wrote in "The Remaining Stories of Kaiyuan and Tianbao" that "During the Cold Food Festival, a swing was erected in the Tianbao Palace for the concubines to play and have fun. The emperor called it the play of the half-immortals, and the people in the capital called it that as well." Wen Yanbo, the prime minister of the Song Dynasty, wrote in his poem "Passing by Dragon Gate on the Cold Food Day" that "beside the bridge, willow trees hang down green threads, and there are many swings with colorful ropes." A swing means moving by pulling on a leather rope.CujuJu is a leather ball made of leather and stuffed with hair inside. Cuju is kicking the ball with the feet. This was a favorite game during the Qingming Festival in ancient times. According to legend, it was invented by Huangdi and its original purpose was to train warriors. Playing polo is also one of the activities during the Dragon Boat Festival. Polo is a game in which one hits a ball with a stick while riding on a horse. It was called Jiju in ancient times. In the Three Kingdoms' poem "Famous Capitals" by Cao Zhi, there is a line "Continuously hitting the ground with balls". "Xijing Zhi" records that the Liao Dynasty regarded playing polo as a traditional festival custom, and played polo on the Dragon Boat Festival and Double Ninth Festival. "History of Jin Dynasty: Rituals" also records that the Jin people played ball during the Dragon Boat Festival. There was a "ball-playing music" dance troupe in the Song Dynasty. Polo was still popular in the Ming Dynasty.OutingAlso called spring outing. In ancient times, it was called Tanchun, Xunchun, etc. During the Qingming Festival in April, spring returns to the earth and nature is full of vitality. It is a great time for an outing. The Chinese people have long maintained the custom of outing during the Qingming Festival.Qingming Festival tree plantingAround the Qingming Festival, the spring sun shines and the spring rain falls, so the survival rate of planted seedlings is high and they grow fast. Therefore, China has had the custom of planting trees on 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.Flying a kiteFlying kites is also a favorite activity among people during the Qingming Festival. During the Qingming Festival, people set off fireworks not only during the day but also at night. At night, strings of colorful lanterns are hung under the kite or on the wind-stable pull line. They look like twinkling stars and are called "magic lanterns." In the past, some people would cut the strings after releasing the kites into the blue sky and let the breeze carry them to the ends of the earth. It was said that this would ward off disease and disaster and bring good luck.Tomb sweepingTomb sweeping during Qingming Festival is called "respect for ancestors". The custom has a long history. The Ming Dynasty's "A Brief Account of Scenery in the Imperial Capital" records: "On the Qingming Festival in March, men and women sweep the tombs, carrying jugs, with paper mulberry sticks hung behind sedan chairs and horses, filling the streets with people. Those who worship, pour wine, cry, and weed and add soil to the tombs burn paper mulberry sticks and place paper money on the grave. If there is no paper money in sight, then the grave is an isolated one. After crying, people do not return home, but instead go to fragrant trees and choose gardens, where they sit and get drunk." In fact, tomb sweeping existed before the Qin Dynasty, but it was not necessarily during the Qingming Festival. Tomb sweeping on the Qingming Festival is a practice that began after the Qin Dynasty. It only became popular during the Tang Dynasty. And it has been passed down to this day.Planting willowsDuring the Qingming Festival, Chinese people have the custom of planting willows.Shooting the WillowShooting willow is a game for practicing archery skills. According to records from the Ming Dynasty, they would put a pigeon in a gourd, then hang the gourd high up on a willow tree, shoot the gourd with a bow, and the pigeon would fly out, and the winner would be determined by how high the pigeon flew.cockfightingIn ancient times, cockfighting was popular during the Qingming Festival. It started from the Qingming Festival and lasted until the summer solstice. The earliest record of cockfighting in China can be found in Zuo Zhuan. In the Tang Dynasty, cockfighting became popular. Not only ordinary people fought cockfights, but even the emperor participated in cockfighting. For example, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang loved cockfighting the most.Silkworm Flower Festival"Silkworm Flower Festival" is a unique folk culture in the silkworm hometown. In the past, during the Qingming Festival, this folk activity was held in Wutong, Wuzhen, Chongfu, Zhouquan and other places. Among them, the silkworm flower fairs at Ma Ming Temple in Zhouquan and Shuang Miaozhu in Qingshi are the most splendid and grand. Ma Ming Temple is located in the west of Zhouquan Town and is known as the "King of Temples" locally. Every year, the Silkworm Festival is crowded with people and there are frequent activities, including welcoming the Silkworm God, rowing speedboats, making noise on the stage, worshiping on incense stools, boxing, dragon lanterns, high poles, singing operas and more than ten other activities. Some of these activities are carried out on shore, but most of them are carried out on boats, which is very characteristic of the water town.Summary: Through the above article, we have learned about the meaning of Qingming Festival and its rich customs and activities. We hope that everyone will have a deeper understanding and love for traditional culture! |
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