It is the Qingming Festival again. Qingming Festival is an important traditional festival among Chinese people. It carries the culture of filial piety that is most valued by Chinese people, remembers the deceased and expresses their grief. At the same time, Qingming Festival is also an important solar term. It means the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty. It is a beautiful time for spring travel and a good time for spring outings.
So, what kind of customs do we Ningbo people have during the Qingming Festival? The reporter interviewed relevant experts and found out that in addition to sweeping tombs and worshiping ancestors, the Qingming Festival is actually very rich in content.
Spring plowing during the Qingming Festival
Grain and rain during the Qingming Festival are connected with each other, so don’t delay in soaking and plowing the fields
“It rains heavily during the Qingming Festival, and people on the road feel like dying. May I ask where the restaurant is? ? The shepherd boy points to Xinghua Village. When people think of Qingming, they will naturally think of this poem by Du Mu, a poet from the Tang Dynasty. "But at first, Qingming did not have this meaning, but was just a solar term. As one of the twenty-four solar terms, this year's Qingming starts on April 4 and ends on April 19." Ningbo folklore expert Mr. Zhao Shiwang explain.
During the Qingming Festival, spring returns to the earth in most parts of our country. The weather is clear and clear, and the grass and trees begin to sprout. It is the best time for spring plowing and spring planting. Farmers are busy everywhere in the fields. "At this time, farmers in Ningbo should be busy soaking seeds, plowing fields, and planting trees."
There are too many folk proverbs about spring plowing during the Qingming Festival, such as "Planting rice early in the Qingming Festival in March" and "Qingming Hot "If you get it early, the early rice will be good", and "The Qingming Festival and Grain Rain are connected, so don't delay in soaking the seeds and plowing the fields." Another example is, "Melons should be planted before the Qingming Festival if they have big fruit." "There is no better time to plant trees than during the Qingming Festival." It is enough to show that agricultural production during the Qingming Festival is the key to a good harvest that year.
Sacrificing Ancestors during the Qingming Festival
In March, when the Qingming Festival is fragrant with bamboo shoots, every family complains that they are busy visiting graves
An old saying in Ningbo goes: “In March during the Qingming Festival, when the bamboo shoots are fragrant, every family Families argue that visiting graves is too busy. "Ningbo customs place great emphasis on worshiping ancestors and making Qingming soup. Even people from home and abroad will rush back to their hometowns to worship ancestors during the Qingming Festival. "Generally, there are three types of ancestor worship during the Qingming Festival, including tomb sacrifices, family sacrifices and ancestral sacrifices." Mr. Zhao Shiwang told reporters.
During the Qingming Festival, Ningbo people have to offer sacrifices at home, which is commonly known as "Qingming Soup Rice". Afterwards, people carry youth balls, mochi, wine, food and other items to visit the graves of their ancestors. According to rural customs, for the first three years of the new deceased's life, the family members have to visit the grave on Tomb Sweeping Day.
In the old days, the food during the grave-going festival was green glutinous rice cakes and mochi (black rice) cakes, and animals were sacrificed to worship ancestors. Rich families also hired drummers to play the music. When visiting the grave, the weeds are cleared, new soil is shoveled on the top of the grave, and small bamboo shoots with paper balls are inserted to show that future generations have fulfilled their filial piety and worship their ancestors. It also means that the ancestors protect the family's safety and prosperity. After the sacrifice, mochi or sesame cakes are distributed to local farmers to take care of the tomb. Because they are collected on a per-person basis, there is a rush to be the first, which is commonly known as "grabbing for mochi".
In addition to family sacrifices such as Qingming soup rice and tomb sacrifices, some wealthy families also have ancestral temple sacrifices. Ancestral sacrifices are usually held in the ancestral hall of the family on the Qingming Festival. First, gongs are beaten in the whole village to mobilize children to "worship the grandpa". The ancestor worship at the ancestral hall is presided over by the patriarch. After the patriarch toasts the grandpa and grandma, the descendants kowtow and pray.
The Chinese nation has always respected filial piety. Ancient sayings such as "Bi Shan filial piety comes first" and "Parents are not far away" show that traditional filial piety culture has long placed filial piety on elders in an important position. Qingming Festival has been included in the national intangible cultural heritage protection list. Throughout the ages, Ningbo people have swept tombs during the Qingming Festival to express their grief for their ancestors and relatives and express their filial piety and respect.
Wearing willows during the Qingming Festival
Wearing willows during the Qingming Festival means having an uncle in the next life
Ningbo people also practice "wearing willows" during the Qingming Festival. Willows should be hung on doors and windows, willow hairpins should be worn on women’s hair, and willow rings should be braided for children to wear. Why Dai Liu? There are several ways to say this.
The first theory is to commemorate Jie Zitui. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Jie Zitui went through many hardships, and after assisting Prince Chong'er of Jin to return to the country, he lived in seclusion in the mountains. Chong'er burned the mountain to force him to come out to accept the reward. Unexpectedly, Jiezi pushed his mother and son to hug the willow and died. When Duke Wen of Jin led his officials to climb up the mountain to worship Jie Zitui, they found that the willow tree that had been burned had come back to life. Duke Wen of Jin immediately named the willow tree "Qingming Willow" and broke off a few willow branches on the spot and put them on his head to express his memory. From then on, ministers and common people followed suit one after another, and it became a common practice.
The second theory is related to the Huangchao Uprising. It is said that during the Huangchao Uprising, it was stipulated that "the Qingming Festival will last for a period of time, and Dai Liu will be the number." Although the uprising failed, this custom was passed down.
“If these two statements are popular across the country, then the third statement has the local characteristics of Ningbo.” Mr. Zhao Shiwang said.
There is a saying in Ningbo: "Wearing willows during the Qingming Festival means having an uncle in the next life." Why is there such a saying? This also has a story. It is said that there was a young man in ancient times. One winter, it was snowing heavily and the weather was freezing cold. The firewood at home happened to be burned out, so he had to go up the mountain with his ax to chop firewood. After walking a long way, he saw a big willow tree that had withered, so he raised his knife and chopped down the big willow tree. However, when the big willow tree fell, a bloody human head also fell out. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be his uncle! It turned out that his uncle hid in the hole of this willow tree to avoid the wind and snow, but he was accidentally killed. The young man was devastated, but there was no way he could recover. The next year, when the withered willow tree sprouted buds, he put on a willow stick to mourn his uncle.
"Wearing willows during the Qingming Festival will bring about an uncle in the next life." If there is no uncle in this life, there should be one in the next life! This saying gradually spread.
In addition, wicker has a strong vitality and will come alive when inserted into the soil. After the Qingming Festival, people will insert the willow sticks worn on children's heads by the river or in the field outside the house to express their best wishes for the healthy growth of their children.
Outing during the Qingming Festival
On March 3rd, people pay homage to their ancestors during the Qingming Festival and go for an outing at their graves
“The present Qingming Festival is actually the ancient Shangsi Festival, Cold Food Festival and Tomb-Sweeping Festival. Three festivals in one." Wu Tingyu, an expert on Chinese traditional culture and dean of the School of Humanities of Ningbo Institute of Technology, believes that Qingming is a composite festival.
“Ningbo people eating Qingtuan during Qingming originated from the Cold Food Festival.” Mr. Wu Tingyu said, but now, many people only know about Qingming and don’t know about cold food. In ancient times, fire and cold food were prohibited on Cold Food Festival, also known as "Cold Festival" and "No Smoking Festival". In the subsequent evolution of the festival, the Cold Food Festival gradually merged into the Qingming Festival.
On the Qingming Festival, in addition to tomb sweeping, there is also a spring outing. "This absorbs the content of the Shangsi Festival. In ancient times, the Shangsi Festival fell on the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar. The main custom was to go outing, which reflected people's urgent need for mental adjustment after a dreary winter, and also reflected the Chinese people's optimistic view of life. ."
Du Fu, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote, "The weather is new on March 3rd, and there are many beautiful people by the waterside of Chang'an." This indicates that this festival is a day for men and women to go on an outing, and it is an early Chinese Valentine's Day and Daughter's Day. "It is conceivable that young men and women in ancient China met on the night of the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month, so if they wanted to meet for a second time, it would most likely be around the Qingming Festival. Lovers would meet in the wild outdoors in the warm spring, and they would be quite affectionate." Wu Tingyu told reporters humorously.
"Similarly, Wang Xizhi, the great calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and internal history of Kuaiji, and his friends Xie An, Sun Chuo and other 42 people held a "Qu Shui Liu Shang" event in Lanting on March 3, where they drank wine and composed poems. There were also The custom of "walking on the beach on March 3rd" in Shipu, Xiangshan, should all be part of Shangsi's outing and enjoying the water." Mr. Wu Tingyu verified from ancient books that in the old days, there were also shooting willows, Cuju, etc. during the Qingming Festival. Tug-of-war, kites, swings and other folk activities. "Xiangshan County Chronicle" records that during the Qingming Festival, children flying kites "makes children open their mouths to vent their internal heat." This means that flying kites is not only a kind of entertainment, but also a kind of sport and a kind of therapy. It is enough to show that this festival not only contains the sorrow and tears of farewell to the new graves, but also the laughter of outings. It is a unique festival.