Qingming is one of the traditional 24 Jieqi (solar terms). Because Jieqi are days marking one of the 24 time zones of the solar year in traditional Chinese calendar, which can be used to objectively indicate the alternation of seasons and climate changes such as temperature, precipitation and phonological phenomenon, our ancestors arranged the agricultural and animal husbandry production based on the 24 Jieqi. However, as a festival, Qingming has a distinct different meaning with the pure solar terms. Jieqi marks the phonological changes and seasons alternation while Qingming contains certain traditional custom and a sentimental commemoration for the ancestors and the dead. Nowadays, Qingming is not just a day of remembrance; it is also a day to celebrate the coming of spring. Therefore, it is a distinctive holiday including both the sorrow sentiment of wax and wane, weal and woe of life and the hilarious hours of spring outdoor activities.
Qingming, meaning clear and bright, is the most important springtime festival. It is also called Tomb Sweeping Festival, on which people visit the gravesites of their ancestors, pay respects to the dead at their tombs and hold memorial ceremonies in honor of their ancestors. The Han nationality and the other minority nationality will sweep the gravesite area as a way to demonstrate filial piety. Due to the close days between Qingming and Cold Foods Festival (commemorate the hero Jie Zitui who had been killed by a fire to save the lives for people), it became a tradition to abstain from lighting fires on the day of Qingming, when people could only eat cold foods that had been prepared the day before. Today, the occasion for eating cold foods translates into a picnic for the family. Therefore, during the Qingming, people adhere to this custom that only taste cold foods and free from cooking.
According to the ancient custom, the Qingming Festival is spent by honoring the dead, which is one of many ways good Confucians demonstrate filial piety. On this day, people visit their family graves to remove any underbrush that has grown. They would uproot weeds near the gravesites, wipe the tombstones and decorate the tombstones with fresh flowers. And then they will set out offerings of food and paper money.
On the melancholy sentiment of the tomb sweeping, people can also enjoy the radiant beauty and warmth at the onset of the spring.
Today in China, Qingming is also known as an occasion for kite-flying. Besides the tradition of honoring the dead, people also often fly kites on Tomb Sweeping festival both day and night. Kites, also called the magic lamp on Qingming, can come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and colors, designing in the shape of swallows, geese, butterflies, peacocks, frogs, dragonflies, butterflies, crabs, bats and storks. They are even able to fashion kites with whistles.
During the period of Qingming, with the coming of spring, nature wakes up, dressing the world in green. All is new, clean and fresh; which provides a desirable opportunity for the tress to survive and grow. Therefore, it has long been the tradition to hold an annual tree planting custom in China, which won an alternative name for Qingming as the “Arbor Day or Tree Planting Day”, with custom passed down from generation to generation. In 1979, it was stipulated by the general offices of the NPC Standing Committee that the national tree planting day in China would be March 12th each year. It has been of great significance to motivate and mobilized the populace of all ethic groups to take the initiative of afforest and beautifying our motherland.
(Source: bjchinese.bjedu.cn)
