What day is Ching Ming Festival?

Ching Ming Festival is one of the 24 solar terms and one of the most important sacrificial festivals. Ching Ming Festival, the traditional Chinese Han nationality, began in the Zhou Dynasty and has a history of more than 2500 years. Under the influence of Han culture, 24 ethnic minorities, including Manchu, Hezhe, Zhuang, Oroqen, Dong, Tujia, Miao, Yao, Li, Shui, Jing and Qiang, also have the custom of Ching Ming Festival. Tomb-sweeping and ancestor worship and outing are the basic themes.

What day is Ching Ming Festival?

April 4th or 5th or 6th of the Gregorian calendar. Ching Ming Festival's time is at the turn of mid-spring and late spring, that is, the 108th day after the Winter Solstice. Qingming Festival was only the name of solar terms at first, and its turn into a festival commemorating ancestors was related to the Cold Food Festival. The Duke of Jin Wen designated the day after the Cold Food Festival as Ching Ming Festival. In most parts of Shanxi Province, the Cold Food Festival was celebrated the day before Ching Ming Festival. Yushe County and other places celebrated the Cold Food Festival two days before Ching Ming Festival. Yuanqu County also paid attention to the cold food festival the day before Ching Ming Festival and small cold food the day before. In 1935, the government of the Republic of China designated April 5 as a national holiday, Ching Ming Festival, also known as the National Tomb sweeping Day.

Legend of the Origin of Ching Ming Festival

Legend has it that during the Spring and Autumn period, Prince Chong'er of the Jin Dynasty went into exile to escape persecution. On his way into exile, he was too tired and hungry to stand up in an uninhabited place. After searching for a long time, the entourage could not find anything to eat. when everyone was very anxious, the entourage pushed Jiezi to a secluded place, cut a piece of meat from his thigh, cooked a bowl of broth for the Childe to drink, and Chong'er gradually regained his spirits. When Chong'er found that the meat was cut off by Jie Zi's own leg, he burst into tears.

Nineteen years later, Chong'er became king, that is, the historical Duke of Jin Wen. After ascending the throne, Duke Wen rewarded the heroes who accompanied him in exile, but forgot Jie Zitui. Many people complain about Jie Zi Tui and advise him to admire him face to face, but Jie Zi Tui most despises those who strive for merit. He packed up and quietly went to Mianshan to live in seclusion.

When the Duke of Jin Wen heard this, he was so ashamed that he personally took someone to invite Jie Zitui, but Jie Zitui had left home and went to Mianshan. Mianshan mountain high road danger, dense trees, it is not easy to find two people, someone offered advice, burning Mianshan from three sides, forcing Jie Zitui. The fire burned all over Mianshan, but there was no sign of Jie Zitui. After the fire went out, people found that he had died sitting under an old willow tree carrying his old mother's Jie Zitui. Seeing this, Lord Wen of the Jin Dynasty wailed. When he was encoffined, a blood book was found in the hole in the tree, which read: "cut the flesh and serve the king with all his heart. I hope the master will always be clear." In memory of Jie Zitui, the Duke of Jin Wen ordered that this day be designated as the Cold Food Festival.

In the following year, the Duke of Wen of the Jin Dynasty led his ministers to climb the mountain for a memorial ceremony and found that the old willow was dead and resurrected. He gave the old willow a "Qingming willow" and told the world that the day after the cold food festival would be Ching Ming Festival.

Ching Ming Festival's Holiday Customs

1. Ancestor worship: in Chinese history, it has long been a custom to eat cold food and forbid fire and pay tribute to our ancestors. After the Tang Dynasty, the Cold Food Festival gradually declined, so Ching Ming Festival's grave-sweeping and ancestor worship has become a continuous festival tradition ever since. In today's society, people still have the custom of visiting graves and paying respects to their ancestors before and after Ching Ming Festival, uprooting weeds, putting offerings, offering incense and prayers in front of graves, burning paper money and gold ingots, or simply offering a bouquet of flowers in memory of their ancestors.

2. Outing: at the time of Qingming Festival, spring returns to the earth, and it is because it is convenient for people to take advantage of it. After sweeping tombs, a family of old and young also have fun in the mountains and countryside. When they go home, they fold a few willow branches with budding leaves and wear them on their heads, happily and happily. Some people specially went to nature to enjoy and appreciate the vibrant spring scene during Ching Ming Festival's period. hiking in the suburbs expressed their depression and knot since the severe winter. this kind of outing is also called spring outing, and in ancient times it was called exploring spring and searching for spring. Its meaning is to step on the grass, play in the countryside and watch the spring.

3. Inserting willow: Ching Ming Festival is the time when willow sprouts and turns green, and there is a folk custom of folding willow, wearing willow and inserting willow. When people go for an outing, they can easily fold off a few wickers and play with them, they can also weave them into hats and wear them on their heads, or they can take them home and insert them on the lintels and eaves. It is said that willow branches can ward off evil spirits, so inserting willows and wearing willows is not only a fashion decoration, but also has the effect of praying for blessings to ward off evil spirits. Planting willows in Qingming Festival may also be related to the custom of begging willow branches for new fire on cold food festivals in the past.

4. Amusement: in addition to the above-mentioned custom of sweeping tombs and offering sacrifices to ancestors, outing and inserting willows, Ching Ming Festival also has a large number of habits of amusement, which have been loved by people for thousands of years, such as hooks, flying kites and swings, as well as shooting willows and Cuju, which were once popular for a time, but they have not been seen again.

5. Cockfighting: cockfighting is popular in ancient Qingming Festival, which starts from Qingming Festival and ends with 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 the folk cockfighting, but also the emperor took part in the cockfighting. For example, Tang Xuanzong likes cockfighting best.

6. Tree planting: before and after the Qingming Festival, the spring sun is shining, the spring rain is flying, and the survival rate of planted seedlings is high and grows fast. Therefore, since ancient times, China has had the habit of planting trees during the Qingming Festival, and some people even call Ching Ming Festival "Arbor Day". The custom of planting trees has been handed down to this day. Ching Ming Festival's custom of planting trees originated from the custom of wearing willows and planting willows during the Qingming Festival.