Qingming Festival- Tomb Sweeping Day in China

Also known in China as Qingming Jie (清明节), Tomb Sweeping Day is a Traditional Chinese holiday celebrated for centuries. On April 5th, Chinese families ... QingmingFestival-TombSweepingDayinChina SHARETOSOCIALMEDIA Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Wechat Weibo cancel AlsoknowninChinaasQingmingJie(清明节),TombSweepingDayisaTraditionalChineseholidaycelebratedforcenturies.OnApril5th,Chinesefamiliescommemorateandpayrespectstotheirancestors.Thename,TombSweepingDay,comesfromthetraditionoftravelingtoyourancestors’tombstosweeporcleanthem.Inadditiontotombsweeping,Chinesefamilieswillalsotraveltothecountrysidetoplantwillowsorflykites.Thosewhocannottraveltotheirancestors’gravesmayinsteadpayrespectsatmartyrs’parksvisitlocaltemplesintheircities. QingmingFestivalTombSweeping WhenisTombSweepingDay? UnlikemanytraditionalChinesefestivalsthatfallondifferentdates,TombSweepingDayisthesameeveryyear.MostChinesefestivalsfollowthelunarcalendar,butTombSweepingDayalwaysfallsonApril4thor5th.Theholidayfallsonthe107thdayafterthestartofwinter. WheredidTombSweepingDayOriginate? TombSweepingdayissaidtocommemorateaservantwholivedduringtheSpringandAutumnPeriod,datingbacktoaround770–476BC).ShowinghisloyaltytohisLord,theservantcutapieceofmeatfromhisleg,tokeephisLordaliveafterbeingforcedintoexile.Whenthelordcamebackintopower19yearslater,heinitiallydidn’tpaymuchrespecttotheservantwhosavedhislife.Eventually,heregrettedhisdecisionandwantedtorewardhim. However,theservantnowlivedinsolitudewithhismotherinthemountains,andwhenthelordwenttolookforhim,hewasnowheretobefound.TheLordorderedafiretobestartedtoforcetheservantout,butafterthefirehadburned,theservantandhismotherwerelaterfounddead.Incommemoration,theLordorderedthatthedayofhisservant’sdeathwascalledHanshi.Onthisday,noonecouldstartanyfires,andpeoplehadtoeatcoldfood. Inthesecondyear,theLordreturnedtothemountain.Hefoundthatthewillowtreesonthemountainhadcomebacktolifeandwerenowinfullbloom.ThisleadtothecreationofthePureBrightnessFestival,dedicatedtothewillowtrees.ThisfestivalalongwithHanshieventuallybecomesTombSweepingDayasweknowittoday. HowisTombSweepingDayCelebratedinChina? Oneofthelargestcustomsandtraditionsofthisfestivalistovisityourancestors’tombstocleanandperformmaintenanceontheburialgrounds.Ancestorsareoftenburiedintheirhometown.Manyofthemgrewupoutinthecountryside,andfamiliesfromthelargerurbancitieswilltraveltoseetheirfamilyclosertohome. Josssticksofincenseisplacedneartombswithanofferingoffoodandaspecialkindofpapermoney.Thepapermoneyiseitherplacedbythetomborburnedonthegroundtosendtoyourancestorsintheirafterlife.Livingfamilymemberswillbowtothegravestoneorgravesiteoftheirancestorsandplacefreshflowers.Theseflowersareasymbol thatthegraveandtheirancestorsarestillintheirmemory. ButTombSweepingDayinrecenttimesisnotonlyaboutcommemoratingyourpastancestors.Itisnowalsobecomingatimefortakingaspringouting,asmostpeoplewillhaveathree-dayweekendandbecausetheweatherinearlyAprilisusuallyclearandbright.Thetreeshavejustturnedgreen,flowersareinbloom,anditisanear-perfecttimetoenjoyChina’sbeautifulscenery. Anothertraditionalactivityisflyingkites.DuringTombSweepingDayyoumaynotonlyfindpeopleandchildrenflyingkitesduringthedaybutalsointheevening.Insomeareas,littlelanternsmaybeattachedtothekitesandorthestringtobekitemaybecut,toletitflyoffforgoodluck. RELATEDARTICLES RELEVANTNEWS       ATourinChongqing,AGaininVision ALandofNaturalBeauty,ACitywithCulturalAppeal HOME|TOURISM|CULTURE|BUSINESS|NEWS|COUNTIES|EVENTS ABOUT|CONTACT //=home_url().'/privacy-policy/'?> Internetillegalandundesirableinformationcanbereportedbycallingthistelephonenumber：+86-23-67230470 IAgree OurPrivacyStatement&CookiePolicy Bycontinuingtobrowseoursiteyouagreetoouruseofcookies,revisedPrivacyPolicyand TermsofUse.Youcan changeyourcookiesettingsthroughyourbrowser. Foranyinquiries,pleaseemail [email protected] AboutUsContactUs //=home_url().'/privacy-policy/'?> Leavingamessage Nationality China U.S.A Japan SUBMIT    Back 