The origin of Tomb-Sweeping Day

Tomb-Sweeping Day, also known as the Walking Festival, is at the turn of mid-spring and late spring, that is, the first 108 day from winter to the future. It is a traditional festival in China, and it is also one of the most important festivals to worship ancestors and sweep graves.

The origin of Tomb-Sweeping Day

Tomb-Sweeping Day can be traced back to ancient times and combined with the Spring Festival. The ancients believed that on Qingming Day, the best time to hold the Spring Festival was when everything was full of vitality, spring and tranquility. The so-called Spring Festival is to worship ancestors in spring. We choose spring because we should not only express our grief for our ancestors, but also pray for them to start the spring season at the beginning of the new year, so as to bless our children and grandchildren with abundant crops and prosperous livestock.

Although there was an embryonic form of Tomb-Sweeping Day in ancient times, people didn't regard Qingming as a fixed festival at that time, and the date of Spring Festival didn't reach a specific date. It was not until Jin Wengong established the Cold Food Festival to commemorate Jiexiu and designated the day after the Cold Food Festival as Tomb-Sweeping Day that the date of Tomb-Sweeping Day was fixed every year.

The legend of meson push

According to legend, during the Spring and Autumn Period, Zhong Er, the son of the Jin Dynasty, went into exile to escape persecution. On the way to exile, in a deserted place, I was tired and hungry, and I couldn't stand up anymore. I searched for it for a long time, but I couldn't find anything to eat. When everyone was in a hurry, I took meson to a quiet place, cut a piece of meat from my thigh and cooked a bowl of broth for my son to drink. Zhong Er gradually recovered his spirit. Zhong Er was moved to tears when he found that the meat was cut off from his leg by mesons.

Nineteen years later, Zhong Er became the monarch, that is, the historical Jin Wengong. After he ascended the throne, Wen Gong rewarded the heroes who accompanied him in exile at first, but forgot to push the meson. Many people complained about meson push and advised him to admire it. However, mesons despise those who strive for merit the most. He packed his bags and quietly went to Mianshan to live in seclusion with his old mother.

Hearing this, Jin Wengong was ashamed and personally took someone to ask Jiexiu, but Jiexiu had left home for Mianshan. Mianshan Mountain is high and dangerous, with dense trees. It's hard to find two people. Someone offered a plan to burn Mianshan from three sides and force a meson to push out. The fire burned all over Mianshan, but there was no trace of meson push. After the fire was put out, it was found that Jiezitui had sat under an old willow tree with his old mother on his back and died. Jin Wengong cried. When I was buried, I found a skirt in a tree hole, which said, "May my Lord be clear forever." To commemorate meson tui, Jin Wengong ordered that this day be designated as Cold Food Festival.

The following year, Jin Wengong led ministers to climb mountains to pay homage. When he discovered that the old willow tree had come back from the dead, he gave it the title of "Qingming Willow" and told the world that the day after the Cold Food Festival was designated as Tomb-Sweeping Day.

The custom of Tomb-Sweeping Day

1, fly a kite

Flying kites is also 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 2 sweep the grave

Tomb-Sweeping Day's grave-sweeping is called "thinking about respecting time" for ancestors, and its custom has a long history. The so-called grave sweeping means cleaning the cemetery, weeding and repairing the grave. In the old society, most people's graves were dug out and piled up, and weeds inevitably grew in the cemetery. However, due to the rain and watering, even mice and foxes dig holes, the graves inevitably "criss-cross" and even collapse into pits. Of course, this is something that China people who are full of filial piety can't tolerate and must be cleaned up and repaired. During the Qingming Festival, the earth is frozen, the rain doesn't come, and people are not busy. This is a good time to clean up and repair.

Step 3 go for an outing

Hiking is also called spring outing. It was called Tanchun and Xunchun in ancient times. March is clear, spring returns to the earth, and nature is full of vitality everywhere, which is a good time to go for an outing. People in our country have always maintained the habit of going for an outing in Qingming. The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival by Zhang Zeduan, a famous painter, depicts the lively scene of Kyoto people going for an outing and going to the market during Qingming Festival in Song Dynasty.

The above is the origin of Tomb-Sweeping Day. During the Qingming period, everything revived, people felt reborn, and they also paid homage to the dead by sweeping graves, which fully reflected people's cherish and respect for life.