The festival the day before Qingming Festival?
Festival the day before Qingming: the Cold Food Festival;Time of the Cold Food Festival in 2020: April 3, 2020, Friday; Gengzi Year (Rat Year), the 11th day of the third lunar month;
The Cold Food Festival is also known as the "No Fire Festival", "Cold Festival", and "Baiwu Festival". It is held 105 days after the winter solstice in the lunar calendar, one or two days before Qingming Festival. In the early days of this festival, people did not light fires and only ate cold food. In the later development, it gradually added customs such as tomb sweeping, spring outing, swinging, Cuju (ancient Chinese football), playing games, and cockfighting. The Cold Food Festival has lasted for more than 2,000 years and was once called the largest traditional festival for ancestral worship. The Cold Food Festival is the only traditional Han Chinese festival named after a dietary custom. Later, because the Cold Food Festival and Qingming Festival were close in time, people combined them and only celebrated Qingming Festival.
The origin of the Cold Food Festival, according to historical records: During the Spring and Autumn period, Prince Chong'er of Jin State fled to other countries for 19 years to avoid trouble. Minister Jie Zitui always followed him without leaving. Even "cutting his flesh to feed the prince". After Chong'er became a wise ruler, he became the "King Wen of Jin". However, Jie Zitui did not seek wealth or position, and returned with his mother to live in seclusion on Mianshan Mountain. To force him to come out, King Wen of Jin ordered a fire to be set on the mountain, but Jie Zitui refused to come out and was eventually burned to death by the fire. King Wen of Jin felt moved by the loyalty of his minister, buried him on Mianshan Mountain, built a temple, and issued an edict that on the day when Jie Zitui died, no fires should be lit and cold food should be eaten to express his sorrow. This is the origin of the "Cold Food Festival".
What are the customs of the Cold Food Festival?
Customs of the Cold Food Festival: SwingSwings were originally a recreational activity for palace women during the Cold Food Festival in ancient times. According to Wang Renyu's "Kaiyuan Tianbao Yishi" from the Five Dynasties: "In the Tianbao era, the imperial palace used to erect swings during the Cold Food Festival, allowing palace maids to play and laugh as entertainment. The emperor called it 'half-angel game', and the people in the capital began to call it so." Song Dynasty Prime Minister Wen Yanbo wrote the poem "Passing through Longmen on the Cold Food Day", which describes "willows by the bridge with green threads, and swings with colored ropes hanging in the trees."
Customs of the Cold Food Festival: Cuju (Ancient Chinese Football)
It was popular in the Tang and Song dynasties. According to the "Wenxian Tongkao": "Cuju originated in the Tang dynasty. Two tall bamboo poles were erected, with a net stretched over them, forming a goal for the ball. Players were divided into two teams to compete for victory." Historical records state that emperors like Tang Dezong, Xianzong, Muzong, and Jingzong all loved Cuju. According to "Zhoufu Yuangui", "In the 12th year of the Zhengyuan era of Emperor Dezong of Tang, on the Cold Food Festival, the emperor watched the Cuju match in the eastern pavilion of Qipian, and also gave banquets to the ministers." There was also a Song painting titled "The Emperor Taizu Playing Cuju."
Customs of the Cold Food Festival: Planting Willow Branches
Willow branches are symbolic of the Cold Food Festival, representing the desire for political clarity, in memory of Jie Zitui. As early as the Southern and Northern Dynasties, "Jingchu Suiyiji" recorded "During the Cold Food Festival in the Jianghuai region, families would break willow branches and plant them at the door." In Anhui and Suzhou, people also wore芥花 (mustard flowers) and wore麦叶 (wheat leaves) instead of willow branches. According to local historical records: "planting willow branches on tombs", "breaking willow branches and placing them at the door", "planting willow branches in the eaves and kitchen", "wearing them on the head or tying them to the belt", "placing them in a vase for offering to Buddha or deities", "all doors have willow branches planted", hence the folk saying "If you don't wear willow on Qingming (Cold Food), your red face will turn white."
Customs of the Cold Food Festival: Spring Outing
Also called "spring outing," it was very popular during the Tang and Song dynasties. According to Li Zhiyan's "Donggu Suojian" from the Song Dynasty: "After visiting the tomb, they would go with their brothers, wives, children, relatives, and friends for a joyful tour." Ming Dynasty's "Yudai Jingwu Lue" described the scene of spring outings in the capital during the Cold Food Festival as: "On the Cold Food Day of the Qingming Festival, thousands of people went out for a walk, by carriage, horseback, or on foot." It was truly very popular.
Customs of the Cold Food Festival: No Fire
The Cold Food Festival was also called the "No Smoke Festival" in ancient times. Families were prohibited from lighting fires and only ate cold food. However, due to the strong sentiment of the people for commemorating the ancients, it was repeatedly banned and revived from the Eastern Han to the Northern and Southern Dynasties. In the Tang Dynasty, the royal family recognized and participated in it. Su Shi's "Wangjiangnan Chao Ran Tai Zuo" refers to the act of brewing tea after the Cold Food Festival. In the countryside of Shanxi, the custom of prohibiting fire and eating cold food lasts only one day, while only a few places still maintain the tradition of three days of no fire.
Customs of the Cold Food Festival: Ancestral Worship
Tomb sweeping and ancestor worship on the Cold Food Festival were regarded as "wild sacrifices" from the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the early Tang Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, it was included in the "Kaiyuan Ritual" as one of the official rituals. Later, it evolved into royal tomb ceremonies, government sacrifices to Confucius' temple and sages, and commoners visiting graves. At that time, one family or clan would go together to the ancestors' graves, offer sacrifices, add soil, and hang paper money. Then, they would roll down "Jie Zitui's燕" (swallow) and "snake coiled rabbit" on the grave top, thread them with willow branches or thorns, and place them in high places in the house, symbolizing the blessing of the ancestors.
Customs of the Cold Food Festival: Poetry Writing
During the Cold Food Festival, literati often reflected on their homesickness or expressed emotions through scenery, feeling deeply and suddenly becoming inspired, leading to a surge of poetic creativity. According to research, there are more than 300 poems by famous poets such as Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Zhang Shuo, Du Fu, Han Yu, and Liu Zongyuan in the "Quan Tangshi", and more than 100 lyrics and plays from the Song, Jin, and Yuan dynasties, making it a unique flower in Chinese poetry art.
Customs of the Cold Food Festival: Cleansing the Intestines
During the Cold Food Festival, people go to the wild to collect wild vegetables, which not only exercise the body but also meet the body's needs, achieving two benefits. Finally, we must also mention the issue of mental regulation in spring health. Women feel sad about the arrival of spring, and during the Cold Food Festival, going out to relax and enjoy the spring can prevent mental illnesses. Although men do not feel sad about spring, during spring when liver energy is excessive, they may become mentally unstable. Remembering the ancestors and expressing grief helps to balance anger, which is very beneficial for liver health. After being nurtured by five thousand years of culture, the Cold Food Festival and Qingming Festival have merged into a festival for remembering the deceased and inspiring the living.
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