TODAY IS QINGMING

TODAY IS QINGMING

QINGMING FESTIVAL

Celebrated two weeks after the vernal equinox, Tomb Sweeping Day is one of the few traditional Chinese holidays that follows the solar calendar（solar calendar）--typically falling on April 4, 5, or 6. Its Chinese name "Qing Ming" literally means "Clear Brightness," hinting at its importance as a celebration of Spring. Similar to the spring festivals of other cultures, Tomb Sweeping Day celebrates the rebirth of nature, while marking the beginning of the planting season and other outdoor activities.

Qing Ming Jie in Ancient Times

In ancient times, people celebrated Qing Ming Jie with dancing, singing, picnics, and kite flying. Colored boiled eggs would be broken to symbolize the opening of life. In the capital, the Emperor would plant trees on the palace grounds to celebrate the renewing nature of spring. In the villages, young men and women would court each other.

The Tomb Sweeping Day as Celebrated Today

With the passing of time, this celebration of life became a day to the honor past ancestors. Following folk religion(folk religion), the Chinese believed that the spirits of deceased ancestors looked after the family. Sacrifices of food and spirit money could keep them happy, and the family would prosper through good harvests and more children.

Today, Chinese visit their family graves to tend to any underbrush that has grown. Weeds are pulled, and dirt swept away, and the family will set out offerings of food and spirit money(spirit money). Unlike the sacrifices at a family's home altar, the offerings at the tomb usually consist of dry, bland food. One theory is that since any number of ghosts rome around a grave area, the less appealing food will be consumed by the ancestors, and not be plundered by strangers.

Honoring Ancestors

Honoring ancestors begins with proper positioning of a gravesite and coffin. Experts in feng shui, or geomancy, determine the quality of land by the surrounding aspects of streams, rivers, trees, hills, and so forth. An area that faces south, with groves of pine trees creates the best flow of cosmic energy required to keep ancestors happy. Unfortunately, nowadays, with China's burgeoning population, public cemetaries have quickly surplanted private gravesites. Family elders will visit the gravesite at least once a year to tend to the tombs.

While bland food is placed by the tombs on Qing Ming Jie, the Chinese regularly provide scrumptious offerings to their ancestors at altar tables in their homes. The food usually consists of chicken, eggs, or other dishes a deceased ancestor was fond of. Accompanied by rice, the dishes and eating utensils are carefully arranged so as to bring good luck. Sometimes, a family will put burning incense with the offering so as to expedite the transfer of nutritious elements to the ancestors. In some parts of China, the food is then eaten by the entire family.

Kites

Besides the traditions of honoring the dead, people also often fly kits on Tomb Sweeping Day. Kites can come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and colors. Designs could include frogs, dragonflies, butterflies, crabs, bats, and storks.

The Cold Food Festival

Today is the cold food festival

24EN Editor’s Note: The Cold Food Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday celebrated for three consecutive days starting the day before the Qingming Festival in the Chinese Calendar, which falls on the 105th day after dongzhi (April 5 by the Gregorian calendar, except in leap years). It is celebrated in China as well as the nearby nations of Korea and Vietnam. At this time of year, the sky becomes clearer and buds sprout in the field. Farmers sow various seeds and supply water to their rice paddies.

Legend has it that Chong'er (重耳), a prince of Jin, endured many hardships while he fled around the warring states. Once, in order to help the prince who was tormented by hunger, Jiè Zhītuī(介之推 or Jiè Zǐtuī, 介子推) cut off the flesh from his thigh and offered it to the prince for sustenance.

Later, when Chong'er became Duke Wen of Jin (晉文公), he ordered a search for Jie Zhitui who had gone into hiding in the remote mountains with his mother. Jie Zhitui had no political ambitions and felt ashamed to work with his hypocritical fellows, hence refused invitation of the Duke. Chong'er ordered the mountains to be burned down in order to force Zhitui out of hiding. Unfortunately Zhitui did not give in and the fire ended up killing Zhitui and his mother.

Filled with remorse, Chong'er ordered that each year during these three days the setting of fire is forbidden – all food was to be consumed cold. Therefore the Festival is thus named. In Jiexiu City of the Shanxi Province, where Jie zhitui died, locals still remember this tradition clearly. But even for them the tradition of eating cold food is no longer actually practiced.

In reality, the true source of the Cold Food Festival started from the ancient tradition of setting fire by rubbing wood pieces together and the tradition of lighting new fires. Due to the change of seasons and the change in the type of wood available, the ancient practice was to change the type of fire-starter-wood used from season to season. Fire is lighted anew upon the start of each season. Before the new fire is officially started no one is allowed to light a fire. This was an important event during that time. The traditionally practiced activities during the Cold Food Festival includes the visitation of ancestral tombs, cock-fighting, playing on swings, beating out blankets (to freshen them), tug-of-war, etc. The practice of visitation of ancestral tombs is especially ancient.

For China the Spring Ancestral Worship used to be practiced during the time of the Cold Food Festival. It was later moved to coincide with the Qingming Festival. However in Korea, where the festival is called Hansik, the tradition of practicing Spring Ancestral Worship during the Cold Food Festival still remains.

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Chinese traditional wedding

China is a large country with 56 nationalities.Different nationalities have different marriage customs, but whatever the nationality is, the wedding ceremony is usually very complicated. The traditional Chinese marriage usually involves 6 necessary procedures, namely: match-making, engagement, betrothal presents, meeting the bride,three bows, and drinking wedlock wine. In addition, a typical Chinese wedding nowadays goes like this:when a new couple is engaged, what followed is a choice of the date of their marriage. Most people would favor a bank holiday or special Chinese festival for their relatives and friends to attend the wedding. However,quite a few others, especially those in the countryside, would probably ask a fortune-teller for a lucky date(usually an even number)so that their marriage would have"Double Happiness". The wedding ceremony is usually presided warmly ,and the wedding ceremony very often ends with a very extravagant banquet. Toasts are made to wish the new couple long life, eternal love and happiness, early birth of a healthy baby and so on.

Chopsticks

Chopsticks are small tapered sticks used in pairs of equal length as the traditional eating utensils of Greater China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Generally believed to have originated in ancient China, they can also be found in some areas of Tibet and Nepal that are close to Han Chinese populations. Chopsticks are most commonly made of bamboo or plastic, but are also made of metal, bone, ivory, and various types of wood. The pair of sticks is maneuvered in one hand, between the thumb and fingers, and used to pick up pieces of food.

Chopsticks are used to eat most kinds of Chinese foods, with some exceptions. Some of the most important rules to remember when dining with chopsticks are as follows:

Hold your chopsticks towards their end, not in the middle or the front third.

When you are not using your chopsticks, or have finished eating, lay them down in front of you with the tips to left.

Do not stick chopsticks into your food, especially not into rice. This is only done at funerals with rice that is put onto the altar.

Do not pass food directly from your set of chopsticks to another's. Again, this is a funeral tradition that involves the bones of a cremated body.

Do not spear food with your chopsticks.

Do not point with your chopsticks.

Do not wave your chopsticks around in the air or play with them.

Do not move plates or bowls around with your chopsticks.

To separate a piece of food in two, exert controlled pressure on the chopsticks while moving them apart from each other in order to tear the food. This takes some practice. With larger pieces of food such as tempura, it is also acceptable to pick up the entire piece with your chopsticks, and take a bite.

If you have already eaten with your chopsticks, use the opposite end to take food from a shared plate.