Big and small news client April 5 news (YMG all-media reporter Zhang Jie) today is the Qingming Festival, as an important traditional festival of the Chinese nation, few people know that Qingming is a three-in-one festival, and the customs of the three festivals are also mixed together. Yesterday, the reporter interviewed Lan Ling, associate professor of the School of Letters of Ludong University, to understand the story and origin.
Photo: YMG all-media reporter Wu Renzhong
"The Qingming Festival is generally around the 15th day after the spring equinox, and is the only festival in the current traditional festival that is unified with the same festival. Due to the proximity of the qingming and cold food days, around the Tang Dynasty, the Qingming and the cold food had merged into one, and the cold food became both another name for the Qingming and a custom of the Qingming Festival. Lan Ling introduced that in ancient times, the third day of the third month of the third month of the lunar calendar every year was the Shangwei Festival, and the time of Qingming and cold food was mostly around the third day of the third month of the third month of the lunar calendar, and the festival periods of the three festivals were basically close to or overlapping, so the current Qingming Festival is actually three festivals in one.
Qingming Festival Spring ploughing and spring planting are just in time
As one of the twenty-four solar terms, Qingming is closely related to farming. The meaning of the word "Qingming" is that the sky is clear and clear. At this time, the temperature rises, the amount of rain increases, it is the beginning of spring ploughing and spring planting, the so-called "before and after the Qingming, point melons and beans", Jiaodong also has "Qingming ploughing half, valley rain planting half" agricultural proverbs.
"Related customs also include long island and Penglai areas that say that this day is a 'donkey's birthday', and in the past, this day must eat sorghum rice porridge." After the rice is cooked, a bowl is first served to feed the donkey, and there is a saying that 'beat a thousand and scold ten thousand, can't forget to eat dry rice in Qingming'. Lan Ling introduced that because spring sowing and spring planting are about to begin, it is the time for these big livestock to contribute, to give them a little "reward" to let them work well. Qingming is at the turn of the seasons, so many regional colloquialisms have also been formed. Lan Ling introduced, "Qingming snow breaks continuously, valley rain breaks frost constantly frost" "cold to cold food hot to autumn" refers to Qingming is a sign of winter to spring in Jiaodong. Laizhou also has a saying that "February Qingming flowers are in front, March Qingming flowers are behind", which means that Qingming is in February of the lunar calendar, apricot blossoms, peach blossoms, etc. will bloom before Qingming, if Qingming is in the third month of the lunar calendar, the flowers will bloom late.
Cold Food Festival Tomb Sweeping Spring Festival Sending Condolences
Qingming became a festival of sacrifice associated with the Cold Food Festival. The Cold Food Festival is celebrated on the 105th day after the winter solstice, also known as the "Cold Festival" and the "No Smoking Festival". Lan Ling told reporters that it was inconvenient for the ancients to take water and use fire, especially fire, and once it was played out, it was protected. At the Cold Food Festival, extinguish the old fire and extract the new fire to show that the old is removed and the new is welcomed.
In folklore, the cold food is to commemorate the death of Suke during the Spring and Autumn Period due to fire. On the day of his death, people commemorated the prohibition of fireworks. Therefore, every cold food festival, people do not make a fire to cook, only eat cold food. In ancient times, tomb sweeping was carried out in the cold food, and later extended to Qingming, so tomb sweeping was a major activity of Qingming, which was called "Spring Festival" in ancient times. Nowadays, the Qingming Festival is also a grand festival for the people of the whole country to commemorate the revolutionary martyrs, paying tribute to the heroic souls of the martyrs and inheriting the revolutionary legacy, and qingming has also become a festival for patriotic education.
Shangwei Festival It is a good time for outings
Qingming Festival is also called the Qingqing Festival, which is a spring tour. March is clear, spring returns to the earth, and the natural world presents a vibrant scene everywhere, which is a good time for outings.
In ancient times, shangwei festival was also a fixed time for young men and women to celebrate. They sang together, exchanged gifts, and privately set a lifelong relationship between the fresh landscapes, that is, "Shangwei Spring Play". Du Fu's "Li Ren Xing" also has the sentence "On March 3, the weather is new, and there are many beautiful people by the water in Chang'an". Jiaodong local custom of steaming swallows in March, the rumor is "March three, big swallow small swallow do a thousand". Lan Ling introduced that the skillfully made face swallows in various postures, one by one painted, colorful and festive, exquisite as handicrafts, people who get face swallows are reluctant to eat, placed on the counter to become decoration.
Jiaodong folk also have the custom of eating eggs in the Qingming Dynasty, and the custom of eating eggs and steamed swallows on the third day of March in Jiaodong is ancient and long.démigré. The ancients' Shangwei Festival is poetic and romantic, full of anticipation and joy for the birth of a new life.
Editor-in-Charge: Yang Yunge