But when I was a child, Tomb-Sweeping Day did have something delicious, that is, boiled eggs. My parents' hometown is in Henan, and there are no relatives or ancestral graves in the northeast. There is no grave-sweeping activity in Tomb-Sweeping Day. What impressed me most was that Tomb-Sweeping Day's mother cooked eggs for us, and they were free to eat. At that time, there were more than a dozen chickens at home, and they were reluctant to eat eggs at ordinary times, but they could eat eggs on an empty stomach three days a year, namely Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival and birthdays. So do other families in our forest farm.
Later, when life was better, the birthday was changed to birthday cake or longevity noodles; Tomb-Sweeping Day doesn't eat boiled eggs either.
As an adult, I often think it is normal to eat boiled eggs during the Dragon Boat Festival. Now we also have the custom of cooking tea eggs on the Dragon Boat Festival. However, Tomb-Sweeping Day eats boiled eggs. Where is this custom now? A few years ago, I asked my mother that my 80-year-old mother had forgotten about Tomb-Sweeping Day eating boiled eggs.
One day, I just looked through the webpage on my mobile phone and saw an article about Tomb-Sweeping Day and the Cold Food Festival. I finally understand why my mother cooked eggs for us in Tomb-Sweeping Day when I was a child.
It turns out that the present Tomb-Sweeping Day is a festival combining the spirit of Tomb-Sweeping Day and the Cold Food Festival. The Cold Food Festival is a traditional festival in China, after the winter solstice and one or two days before Tomb-Sweeping Day. This is the first traditional anniversary in China. According to historical records, during the Spring and Autumn Period, Zhong Er, the son of the State of Jin, was exiled for 19 years, and Jiezitui followed him all the time. After Zhong Er became Jin Wengong, Meson Tui and his mother retreated to Mianshan, and Jin Wengong released Yamakaji, forcing Meson to push down the mountain. Meson Tui was determined not to go down the mountain and was eventually burned to death. Jin Wengong buried meson in Mianshan, built a shrine and a temple, and ordered meson to be banned from fire and cold when he died, to show his grief. This is the origin of the Cold Food Festival. Later, with the constant change of the calendar, the Cold Food Festival merged into Tomb-Sweeping Day and became Tomb-Sweeping Day, following the custom of sweeping and hiking.
Mianshan, where meson Tui was burned to death, is located in today's Shanxi Province. My parents' hometown Henan and Shanxi are separated by a Yellow River, and many customs are similar to Shanxi. Tomb-Sweeping Day eats boiled eggs, probably cooked one day in advance, and Tomb-Sweeping Day eats them without setting fire to them. Boiled eggs are not afraid of spoilage and can be eaten cold.
Today is Qingming, the fifth of the 24 solar terms. "Everything is in harmony, and everything is bright at this time." At this time, everything is clean and clear, everything is clean and clear.
It's sunny today, with the highest temperature of 12℃ and the lowest temperature of-3℃. It seldom rains in Tomb-Sweeping Day, and I didn't go for an outing.
Boiled two eggs and missed my poor childhood.