The Qingming (Pure Brightness) Festival is one of the 24 seasonal division points in China, falling on April 4-6 each year. After the festival, the temperature will rise up and rainfall increases. It is the high time for spring plowing and sowing. Festival is not only a seasonal point to guide farm work, it is more a festival of commemoration.

The Qingming Festival sees a combination of sadness and happiness.

The Qingming Festival sees a combination of sadness and happiness.

This is the most important day of sacrifice. Both the Han and minority ethnic groups at this time offer sacrifices to their ancestors and sweep the tombs of the ancestors. Both the Han and minority ethnic groups at this time offer sacrifices to their ancestors and sweep the tombs of the diseased. Also, they will not cook on this day and only cold food is served.

The Hanshi (Cold Food) Festival was usually one day before the Qingming Festival. As our ancestors often extended the day to the Qingming, they were later combined.

On each Qingming Festival, all cemeteries are crowded. On each Qingming Festival, all cemeteries are crowded with people who came to sweep tombs and offer sacrifices. Traffic on the way to the cemeteries becomes extremely jammed. The customs have been greatly simplified today. After slightly sweeping the tombs, people offer food, flowers and favorites of the dead, then burn incense and paper money and bow before the dead. After slightly sweeping the tombs, people offer food, flowers and favorites of the dead, then burn incense and paper money and bow before the memorial tablet.

In contrast to the sadness of the tomb sweepers, people also enjoy hope of Spring on this day. The Qingming Festival is a time when the sun shines brightly, the trees and grass become green and nature is again lively. Since ancient times, people have followed the custom of Spring outing. The Qingming Festival is a time when the sun shines brightly, the trees and grass become green and nature is again lively. Kite flying is actually not limited to the Qingming Festival. Its uniqueness lies in that people fly kites not during the day, but also at night. A string of little lanterns tied onto the kite. Kite flying is actually not limited to the Qingming Festival. Its uniqueness lies in that people fly kites not during the day, but also at night. A string of little lanterns tied onto the kite or the thread look like shining stars, and therefore, are called "god's lanterns."

The Qingming Festival is

The Qingming Festival is also a time to plant trees, for the survival rate of saplings is high and trees grow fast later. In the past, the Qingming Festival was called "Arbor Day". But since 1979, "Arbor Day" was settled as March 12 according to the Gregorian calendar.

Qingming Festival

Qingming is one of the twenty-four solar terms in China. Since the 24 solar terms reflect more objectively the changes in temperature, rainfall, and physical conditions throughout the year, the ancient working people used it to organize their agricultural activities. However, Qingming, as a festival, is different from a pure festival. Festivals are the symbols of changes in climate and the order of the seasons in China, while festivals contain certain customs and commemorative significance. Therefore, this festival is characterized by both the sadness and sorrowful tears of sweeping the new graves for the parting of life and death, and the laughter of trekking and playing.

The Qingming Festival is a traditional festival in China and the most important festival of worship, a day of ancestor worship and tomb-sweeping. Tomb-sweeping is commonly known as visiting the graves, an activity to honor the dead. Most Han Chinese and some ethnic minorities sweep their tombs on Qingming Festival. Due to the close proximity of Qingming and cold food days, and cold food is the folk ban on fire sweeping the tomb, gradually, cold food and Qingming will be merged into one, and cold food has become both an alias of Qingming, but also turned into a custom for the Qingming festival, the day of the Qingming does not move fireworks, and only eat cold food.

According to the old custom, when sweeping graves, people should bring wine, food, fruits, paper money and other items to the cemetery, offer the food in front of their loved ones' graves, then incinerate the paper money, cultivate new soil for the graves, fold a few young green branches into the graves, and then kowtow to pay homage, and then finally eat the wine and food and go home.

Contrary to the sadness of tomb-sweeping on the Qingming Festival, people are just as likely to enjoy life on this bright spring day.

Flying kites is also a favorite activity during the Qingming Festival. Every Qingming Festival, people not only fly during the day, but also at night. At night, a string of small colorful lanterns are hung under the kite or on the wind steady pulling line, like twinkling stars, which are called "divine lanterns".

Before and after the Qingming Festival, the spring sun shines, the spring sun shines, the spring rain sprinkles, planting saplings with a high survival rate, fast growth. Therefore, since ancient times, China has the Qingming tree planting habit. Some people also call the Qingming Festival "Tree Planting Day". Tree-planting custom has been handed down to the present day. 1979, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress stipulated that every year on March 12 for China's Tree Planting Day. This is to mobilize the people of all ethnic groups to actively carry out activities to green the motherland, has a very important significance.