I. The origin of Qingming Festival (about 60 words)

During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Prince of Jin, Chong Er, was fed by Jie Zi Tui, who cut his flesh while he was in exile. After he became the king, he burned a mountain to force out the reclusive Jie Zi Tui, and mistakenly burned him to death under an old willow tree. Duke Wen of Jin set this day as the Cold Food Festival, and when the old willow tree came back to life the next year, he set the day after the Cold Food Festival as the Qingming Festival.

Second, the customs of the Qingming Festival

Qingming is one of the twenty-four solar terms, but also China's traditional festivals. It began in the Zhou Dynasty, more than 2,500 years ago. There are many customs of Qingming Festival, the ancients in Qingming this day in addition to sweeping graves, there are trekking, swinging, kicking cuju, playing polo, willow and a series of customs and sports activities. But in modern times, most of the regions have only retained the activity of tomb-sweeping.

Tomb-sweeping at Qingming is a way of honoring the ancestors. In the Ming Dynasty, "The Scenery of the Imperial Capital", it is written, "On Qingming Day in March, men and women sweep the graves, carrying Pusaetha scandens, and hanging kozo ingots behind the sedan chair and horse, which are all over the road with a big smile". It means "on the day of Qingming in March of the lunar calendar, men and women went to sweep the graves, carrying wine pots and cups, hanging paper money on the sedan chair and horse, and the road was bustling with grave sweepers."

Nowadays, on the day of Ching Ming, there are activities of ancestor-sweeping and tomb-sweeping all over the world. People come to the graves of their ancestors to pay their respects, set out chrysanthemums, fruits, cakes and cakes, insert incense and light it up, and the hostess burns paper money in front of the stone monument next to the grave that reads "Houtou", while some also burn paper palanquins, houses, etc. The man burns paper money with a brush dipped in water. The man uses a brush dipped in red paint to trace the words on the tombstone. Afterwards, they pray and ask the ancestors to bless the family with peace. Finally, firecrackers are set off and the tomb-sweeping activity is over. However, nowadays, for safety reasons, many people have changed the firecrackers to ceremonial fireworks. People take the consecrated fruits and pastries back to their children to eat, which is said to bless the children's health.