The Origin and Customs of Qingming Festival How did Qingming Festival come about?

Qingming Festival is a traditional festival in my country, and is known as one of the four major traditional festivals in China along with the Dragon Boat Festival, the Spring Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival. Qingming Festival is the most important festival for worshipping ancestors in my country. It is the day for worshipping ancestors and sweeping tombs. So, what are the origins and customs of Qingming Festival?

The Origin and Customs of Qingming Festival

There are several theories about the origin of Qingming Festival. One theory is that it is related to Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, while another theory is that it is related to Jie Zitui.

Statement 1:

There are many legends about the origin of the custom of ancestor worship on Qingming Festival. One of the more reliable ones is that it began with Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han Dynasty. According to legend, at the end of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang finally defeated the Overlord and won the world. When Liu Bang returned home in glory, he wanted to visit his parents' tomb to pay his respects, but due to years of war, the tombs were overgrown with weeds, and he could not find his parents' graves. Liu Bang was very sad. Although his subordinates helped him search all the tombstones, they still couldn't find his parents' grave until dusk. Finally, Liu Bang took out paper from his sleeve, tore it into many small pieces, held them tightly in his hand, and then prayed to God, "If my parents are in heaven, I will throw these pieces of paper into the air. If the pieces of paper fall in a place where the wind cannot blow them away, that must be my parents' grave." After that, Liu Bang threw the pieces of paper into the air, and sure enough, a piece of paper fell on a grave. No matter how hard the wind blew, it could not move. Liu Bang ran over and took a closer look at the blurry tombstone, and sure enough, he saw his parents' names engraved on it. Later, ordinary people, like Liu Bang, would go to their ancestors' tombs to worship on Qingming Festival every year, and would press a few pieces of paper on the tombs with small lumps of earth to indicate that the tombs had been visited by someone.

Statement 2:

Another theory is related to the Cold Food Festival. Qingming Festival and Cold Food Festival are close to each other, and Cold Food Festival is the day when people are forbidden to use fire and sweep tombs. Gradually, Cold Food Festival and Qingming Festival became one, and Cold Food Festival became another name for Qingming Festival. According to legend, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Chong'er fled into exile to avoid disaster, and most of his ministers who had fled with him went their separate ways. Only a few loyal people remained and continued to follow him. One of them was called Jie Zitui. Once, Chong'er fainted from hunger. In order to save Chong'er, Jie Zitui cut a piece of meat from his leg, roasted it over the fire and gave it to Chong'er to eat. Nineteen years later, Chong'er returned to his country and became the monarch, Duke Wen of Jin, one of the famous Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period. After Duke Wen of Jin came to power, he rewarded his ministers who had shared his hardships, but he forgot Jie Zitui. Someone spoke up for Jie Zitui in front of Duke Wen of Jin. Duke Wen of Jin suddenly remembered the old incident and felt guilty. He immediately sent someone to invite Jie Zitui to the court to receive rewards and official titles. However, after sending people several times, Jie Zitui did not come. Duke Wen of Jin had no choice but to go and invite him in person. However, when Duke Wen of Jin arrived at Jie Zitui's house, he found the door closed. Jie Zitui didn't want to see him, and had already hidden in Mianshan with his mother on his back. Duke Wen of Jin sent his royal guards to search Mianshan, but they found nothing.

So, someone came up with an idea and said, why not set fire to the mountain, ignite it on three sides and leave one side, and when the fire started, Jie Zitui would come out by himself. Duke Wen of Jin ordered the fire to be set on the mountain. Unexpectedly, the fire burned for three days and three nights. After the fire was extinguished, Jie Zi was never seen. When they went up the mountain, they saw that Jie Zitui and his mother were already dead, hugging a burnt willow tree. Duke Wen of Jin looked at Jie Zitui's body and wept and bowed, then buried Jie Zitui and his mother separately under the burnt willow tree. In order to commemorate Jie Zitui, Duke Wen of Jin ordered that Mianshan be renamed "Jieshan", and a ancestral hall be built on the mountain. The day when the mountain was set on fire was designated as the Cold Food Festival, and the whole country was notified that on this day every year fireworks were forbidden and only cold food was eaten. Since then, Cold Food Festival and Qingming Festival have become grand festivals for people across the country. During the Cold Food Festival, people do not light fires to cook and only eat cold food. In the north, people only eat cold food prepared in advance, such as date cakes, wheat cakes, etc.; in the south, they mostly eat green rice balls and glutinous rice sweet lotus roots. During every Qingming Festival, people weave willow branches into circles and wear them on their heads, and insert willow branches in front of and behind their houses to show their remembrance.

What are the main customs of Qingming Festival?

Qingming Festival is not only a traditional festival for ancestor worship, but also a very important solar term. When Qingming arrives, the earth shows signs of spring and the temperature rises. It is a good time for spring ploughing and planting, so there is a saying "Plant melons and beans before and after Qingming." There is an agricultural proverb that goes "The best time to plant trees is during the Qingming Festival." The customs of Qingming Festival are rich and interesting. In addition to banning fire and worshiping ancestors and sweeping tombs, there are also a series of customs such as outing, swinging, kicking football, playing polo, and planting willows. Qingming Festival is a great time for planting trees. Around the Qingming Festival, the temperature gradually rises and the rainfall increases. It is a good time for all things to grow. The spring sun shines, the spring rain falls, and the survival rate of planted seedlings is high and they grow fast. Therefore, my country has had the custom of planting trees during Qingming Festival since ancient times. Some people also call Qingming Festival "Arbor Day".