Qingming Festival 2022, Tomb Sweeping Day, Ching Ming

It usually falls on April 4 or 5. In 2022, the Qingming Festival falls on April 5. The public holiday in China is from April 3 to April 5, 2022. LiveupdatesonChinatravelrestrictionsfor2022.Learnmore Home ChineseCulture ChineseFestivals QingmingFestival2022 WrittenbyRubyZhaoUpdatedDec.28,2021 QingmingFestival,alsocalledTombSweepingDayor,literally,'PureBrightness'FestivalinEnglish,isatraditionalChinesefestivalandanimportantdayformostpeople(includingtheHanChineseandsomeofChina's55other ethnicminorities)togoandsweeptombsandcommemoratetheirancestors.Onthisday,tombsweepingisoneofthemostimportantandpopularactivitiestoshowrespecttoancestors. ItusuallyfallsonApril4or5.In2022,theQingmingFestivalfallsonApril5.ThepublicholidayinChinaisfromApril3toApril5,2022.  OnMay20,2006,thefestivalwaslistedas oneofthefirstnationalintangibleculturalheritageevents. Learnmoreabout deathcultureinChina. ContentPreview WhatistheMeaningofQingming? WhyisQingmingFestivalCelebrated? HowDoChineseCelebratetheQingmingFestival? FoodsforQingmingFestival QingmingFestivalinVietnam,SouthKoreaandJapan VisitingChinaDuringtheQingmingFestival WhatistheMeaningofQingming? VisitGuilininSpring Chinese:清明节QīngmíngJié/ching-mingjyeah/'PureBrightFestival' Originally,Qingmingdidn'trelatetotombsweepingorshowingrespecttoancestors.Itisthesecondofthe24solartermsonthetraditionalChinesesolarcalendar. InChinese,Qingming(清明)means'clearness'and'brightness'.Theoriginofthenamewasrelatedtoclimateandnatureinthisseason.AtthebeginningofApril,itbecomesnoticeablywarmerandbrighter,andnatureiswakingupinnorthern/centralChina(thishappensearlierinsouthChina).Peoplestarttowearlightclothsandwalkoutsidetofeelthegrowthinspring. ThedaybeforeTombSweepingDaywasthetraditionalChineseColdFoodDay.Astimepassed,thetwofestivalsweregraduallycombinedintoone.OnthedayoftheColdFoodFestival,peopleusednofireandonlyatecoldfood.NowpeopleinsomeplacesstillhavethecustomofeatingcoldfoodonQingmingFestival. WhyisQingmingFestivalCelebrated? OfferSacrificestoAncestors TheQingmingFestivalstartedintheZhouDynasty(1046–221BC),andhasahistoryofover2,500years. Itoriginatedfromtheextravagantandostentatiouslyexpensiveceremoniesthatmanyancientemperorsandwealthyofficialsheldinhonoroftheirancestors.Theyofferedsacrificestotheirancestorsandbeseechedthemtoblessthecountrywithprosperity,peace,andgoodharvests. Intheyear732,EmperorXuanzongoftheTangDynasty,declaredthatrespectcouldonlybepaidformallyatancestors'gravesonthefirstdayoftheQingmingsolarterm.Fromthenon,sweepingtombsonthefirstofQingminggraduallybecamepopularwithbothroyalandcommonfamilies,andthetraditionhaslastedwelloveramillennium. TheQingmingLegend MianshanNearPingyaoAncientTown ThereisalegendabouttheoriginoftheQingmingFestivalrelatingtoamountainnearPingyaoAncientTowncalledMianshan. MianshanisalsocalledJieshan('JieMountain')after JieZitui (?–636BC),aloyaldefenderofDukeWenofJin(697–628BC),who,earlierinlife,wasaprinceinexilenamed Chong'er. Onedayin655BC,whenPrinceChong'erwasabouttostarvetodeath,JieZituisecretlycutapieceoffleshfromhisthighandcookeditintoameatsoup,whichsavedtheprince.Chong'erwonderedwhereJiehadobtainedthesoup.WhenhefoundoutwhatJiehaddone,theprincewassomovedthathepromisedtorewardhimoneday. Nineteenyearslater,in636BC,PrinceChong'erreturnedtohiskingdomandtookpoweras DukeWenofJin,oneofthefivehegemonsoftheSpringandAutumnPeriod(770–476BC). Aftertakingpower,DukeWengreatlyrewardedandhonoredallofhisfollowers,butheforgotJieZitui,themanwhooncesavedhislife.WhenothersspokeofJieZitui,DukeWenrememberedhimandwasashamed. Then,thedukedecidedtovisitJieZituipersonallyandconferatitleonhim.JieZituiheardthenewsandhidonanearbymountainwithhisagedmother.Herefusedtomeettheprincebecausehedidn'twanttobeanofficer.Noonecouldfindhim. DukeWensetfiretothemountaintoforceJieZituioutofhiding. Threedayslater,thedukeandhispeoplefoundtwodeadbodies—thoseofJieZituiandhismother—inacaveunderawillowtreeonthemountain.InhonorofJieZitui,amanwhoneversoughtfameandprofit,DukeWenburiedhimandhismotherrespectfully,helda memorialceremony forthetomb,andorderedhissubjectsnottousefireandonlytoeatcoldfoodonthatday. Thenextyear,DukeWenclimbedthemountaintocommemorateJieZitui.Whenarrivingatthetomb,hesawtheburntwillowtreewasrevivedwithlushleavesandbranches.Hewassomovedthathesweptthetombanddeclaredthefestivalasa"ColdFoodFestival"(partofthe QingmingFestival nowadays). DukeWenformedanhonest,diligent,pragmatic,andefficientgovernmentduringhisreign,andsohisQingmingcoldfoodtraditionlivedonwithhislegend. HowDoChineseCelebratetheQingmingFestival? TombSweeping TherearevariousactivitiesforQingmingFestival.Themostpopularonessuchastombupkeepandrepair,springoutings,kiteflying,andputtingwillowbranchesongateshavebeenanimportantpartofthisfestivalsincethebeginning. Peopleoftenparticipateinasporttowardoffthecoldandinanticipationofthearrivalofspring.Thefestivalintegratesbothreverenceandfunthroughitscustoms. TombSweeping—theMostImportantCustomofQingmingFestival Peoplecommemorateandshowrespecttotheirancestorsbyvisitingtheirgraves,offeringfood,teaorwine,burningincense,burningorofferingjosspaper(representingmoney),etc.Theysweepthetombs,removeweeds,andaddfreshsoiltothegraves.Theymightstickwillowbranches,flowers,orplasticplantsonthetomb. AtQingming,peopleusuallyworshiptheirancestorsbyburningincenseand'papermoney'attheirancestors'gravesites. Theypraybeforetheirancestors'gravesandbeseechthemtoblesstheirfamilies.However,thecustomhasbeengreatlysimplifiedtoday,especiallyincities,wheremanypeopleonlyputflowerstothedeadrelatives. PuttingWillowBranchesonGates DuringtheQingmingFestival,somepeoplewearsoftwillowbranchesandplacethebranchesongatesandfrontdoors.PeoplebelievethatthiscustomwillwardoffwanderingevilspiritsduringQingming. ThatwillowsareconsideredmagicalismainlyaBuddhistinfluence.TraditionalpicturesoftheGoddessofMercyGuanyinoftenshowherseatedonarockwithawillowbranchinavaseofwateratherside.Thegoddessusedthismysteriouswaterandbranchtoscareawaydemons. Accordingtohistoricalrecords,thereisanoldsaying:"Putwillowbranchesupongates;driveghostsawayfromhouses." SpringOuting TheQingmingFestivalisagoodtimetofeelthebreathofspring. QingmingisalsocalledTaqingFestival.Taqing(踏青/taa-ching/'treadgreen')meansaspringouting,whenpeoplegetoutandenjoythespringblossoms. Thefestivalusuallyfallsonadaynotlongbeforeeverythingturnsgreeninthenorth,andwellintothespringflowerseasoninthesouth. Itmarksthebeginningoftheseasonwhenpeoplespendmoretimeoutsideastheweatherwarmsup. LearnmoreaboutTheBestPlacestoVisitinSpringinChina. KiteFlying Kiteflying Flyingkitesisalsoanimportantcustomenjoyedbymanypeople,youngandold,duringtheQingmingFestival.TheuniquenessofkiteflyingduringtheQingmingFestivalliesinthatkitesarenotonlyflownduringthedaybutalsointheevening. Littlecoloredlanternsaretiedtothekitesortothestringsthatholdthekites.Whenkitesflyintheevening,thelanternslookliketwinklingstars. Inthepast,peoplecutthestringtoletthekiteflyfreely.Peoplebelievethatthiscustomcanbringgoodluckandeliminatediseases.Thisiswhyyoumightsometimesfindpaperkiteslyingonthegroundinparksandfields. KiteflyingispopularthroughoutallofChinaandyouwillseepeopledoingitonbigsquaresorinparksthroughouttheentirecountry.LearnmoreaboutChinesekites. FoodsforQingmingFestival QingmingFestivalFood ThedaybeforeTombSweepingDaywasthetraditionalChineseColdFoodDay.Astimepassed,thetwofestivalsweregraduallycombinedintoone.Onthecoldfoodfestivalday,peopleusednofireandonlyatecoldfood.NowpeopleinsomeplacesstillhavethecustomofeatingcoldfoodonQingmingFestival. DifferentplaceshavedifferentfoodsforQingmingFestival.ThetraditionalQingmingfestivalfoodsincludesweetgreenriceballs,peachblossomporridge,crispycakes,Qingmingsnails,andeggs.ThesefoodsareusuallycookedoneortwodaysbeforethearrivaloftheQingmingFestivalsopeoplecaneatandrecreateduringtheholidays. SweetGreenRiceBalls SweetgreenriceballsareoneofthemosttraditionalQingmingfoods. SweetGreenRiceBalls(青团qīngtuán/ching-twann/'greendumpling(s)')areapopularQingmingfoodthataremadeofamixtureofglutinousricepowderandgreenvegetablejuiceandstuffedwithsweetenedbeanpaste.Sweetgreenriceballsarejade-greenincolor,glutinousintaste,andsweetinaroma. ChingmingCakes Chingmingcakesarecalledsazi(撒子sāzi/saa-dzuh/[phonetic])orhanju(寒具hánjù/han-jyoo/'coldtools').Theyareacrispyfriedfoodthataremadeofwheatflourorglutinousriceflour,eggs,sesame,onion,salt,andotheringredients. AmongsomeChineseethnicminorities,suchastheUygurinXinjiang,theDongxianginGansu,theNaxiinYunnan,andtheHuiinNingxia,saziisfamedforitsgreatvarietyandmanyflavors. Qingmingsnails OtherChingmingFoods Qingmingsnailsisadishcookedwithsnails,onions,ginger,soysauce,cookingwine,andsugar. Peachblossomporridgeisakindofporridgecookedwithfreshpeachblossomandrice. QingmingFestivalIsalsoCelebratedinOtherCountries BesidesChina,manyothercountriesalsocelebrateTombSweepingFestival.TheyaremainlyinAsia,butcelebrationsarealsoseeninothercountrieswithChinesecommunities. QingmingFestivalinVietnam HalongBayinVietnam InVietnam,QingmingFestivalisonmonth3day3ofthelunarcalendar.VietnamesepeoplehavesimilartraditionalasinChina:tombsweeping,springoutings,coldfood,etc.UnlikeinChina,itisnotapublicholiday. QingmingFestivalisalsocalledTangyuanFestival.Vietnameseglutinousriceballsarefilledwithmungbeans.Theyarecookedandplacedinabowlandmixedwithsugarandwaterforconsumption.Inthepast,VietnamesewouldnevereatTangyuanbeforethethirddayofMarch.BecauseinVietnam,forrespecttothegodsandancestors,nofoodisallowedtobeeatenbeforeoffering. QingmingFestivalinSouthKorea InSouthKorea,QingmingFestivalisonApril5th. Unlikeinothercountries,papermoneyisnotburnedwhenworshippingancestorsinSouthKoreatoprotectagainstwildfires.Oneofthemostimportantactivitiesistorefurbishthetombsofdeadrelatives.Thosewhocan'tgettothecemeteryinpersonwillusuallyputamemorialtabletinatempleorathome,andthenplacewine,fruit,wormwoodricecake,andotherofferingsinfronttoshowrespecttotheirancestors. QingmingFestivalinJapan CherryBlossominJapan InJapan,onlyinOkinawaaretombsweepingactivitiesdonearoundApril5th.MostJapanesepeoplecelebrateBonFestivalinstead,whichisusuallyaroundAugust13thto16th.ItisthesecondmostimportantfestivalinJapanfollowingNewYear'sDay.DuringBonFestival,peoplewillgobacktotheirhometownstopayhomagetotheirancestors.It'salsoagoodopportunityforfamilygathering. JapanesepeoplebelieveancestorswillcomebackhomeduringBonFestival.Theyputlanternsinfrontoftheirhousestoguidethespiritshome.Onthelastdayofthefestival,theyputofferingsinthenearbyriverstosaygoodbyetotheancestralspirits. VisitingChinaDuringtheQingmingFestival AprilisagreatmonthfortravelingtoChinabecauseofthewarmtemperaturesandpicturesquespringscenery.ChinaHighlightswillhelpyouseethebestofChina'shighlights.Wespecializeinprivateandindividualizedtoursforindividuals,families,andgroups.Sendafreeinquirytousandyouwillgetaquickreplywithin24hours.  Recommendedtours: 3-DayEssenceofGuilinandtheLiRiver 3-Day AncientVillagesandYellowMountainTour 3-Day ZhongweiDesertTourwithWineryExperience 6-Day XishuangbannaandPu'erTour CheckmoretourdestinationsrecommendedforApril. WhyTravelwithChinaHighlights YourWellbeingisOurPriority. 1-to-1travelexpert Vaccinatedguides PrivateRides YourTripisPerfectlyPlanned. Nocrowds ExclusiveExcitingExperiences YourBookingisRisk-Free. 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