"Fifteen days after the vernal equinox, the bucket refers to Ding, which is used for Qingming. When everything is clean and bright, everything is clean and bright when it is covered, hence the name." Among the 24 solar terms in a year, people pay special attention to Tomb-Sweeping Day on April 5th of the lunar calendar.
The custom of sweeping graves and offering sacrifices in Tomb-Sweeping Day was inherited from the Han Dynasty. After that, the popularity of the people lasted for two thousand years. On this day, filial children and grandchildren of every family will go to the suburbs to worship their ancestral graves, cut graves, add soil to the graves, and clean them up. In modern times, filial sons and grandsons may not necessarily observe Tomb-Sweeping Day's visit to Tomb-Sweeping Day on this day. Some will pay homage a few days before the festival, and some will pay homage a few days after the festival, but generally speaking, it is just Tomb-Sweeping Day's grave-sweeping.
Walking is a sideline to set off Tomb-Sweeping Day. After the grave-sweeping, the whole family, big or small, enjoyed themselves in Shan Ye, folding willow branches into branches and wearing them on their heads until dusk.
Legends about Tomb-Sweeping Day
During the Spring and Autumn Period, Zhong Er, the son of the Jin Dynasty, went into exile to escape persecution. On the way to exile, he was tired and hungry in a deserted place and couldn't stand up anymore. I searched for it for a long time, but I couldn't find anything to eat. Everyone is anxious. I pushed the minister to a secluded place, cut a piece of meat from my thigh and cooked a bowl of broth. Zhong Er shed tears when he found that the meat was cut off by mesons.
Nineteen years later, Zhong Er became the monarch, that is, the historical Jin Wengong. After he ascended the throne, Wen Gong rewarded the heroes who accompanied him in exile at first, but forgot to push the meson. Many people complained about meson push and advised him to admire it. However, mesons despise those who strive for merit the most. He packed his bags and quietly went to Mianshan to live in seclusion.
Hearing this, Jin Wengong was ashamed and personally took someone to ask Jiexiu, but Jiexiu had left home for Mianshan. Mianshan Mountain is high and dangerous, with dense trees. It's hard to find two people. Someone offered a plan to burn Mianshan from three sides and force a meson to push out. The fire burned all over Mianshan, but there was no trace of meson push. After the fire was put out, people found that Jiezitui, who was carrying his old mother, had sat under an old willow tree and died. Jin Wengong cried. When I was buried, I found a bloody book in a tree hole, which said, "May my master always have a clear-cut stand." To commemorate meson tui, Jin Wengong ordered that this day be designated as Cold Food Festival.
The following year, Jin Wengong led the minister to climb a mountain to pay homage, and found that the old willow tree came back from the dead. He named the old willow "Qingming Willow" and told the world that the day after the Cold Food Festival was designated as Tomb-Sweeping Day.