On which day is the 2024 Qingming Festival, and when is it taboo for women to sweep the tomb?Let's take a look at the 10 precautions for the Qingming Festival.
The spring breeze is blowing, and it is the Qingming season of the year. In Chinese culture, this is an important time to pay homage to ancestors and remember loved ones. If you want to know what day is Qingming Festival in 2024 and what are the related customs, follow this article to read it together!
What is the day of the Qingming Festival?
Qingming Festival is the only one of the 24 solar terms that is both a folk festival and a meteorological solar term. According to the solar calendar, Ching Ming Festival falls on the fifteenth day after the vernal equinox, so the date of each year is not fixed, roughly between April 4 and April 6.
And this year's Qingming Festival in 2024 is 4/4 (Thursday).
What is the significance of Qingming Festival?
When it comes to the Qingming Festival, customs such as worshipping ancestors, eating moist cakes, and walking in the green are related to the Cold Food Festival and the Shangsi Festival. In terms of solar terms, the Cold Food Festival is only one or two days away from Qingming, and it is also quite close to the Shangsi Festival of 3/3 of the lunar calendar. The customs of the Cold Food Festival are to eat raw and cold food and sweep the tomb to show nostalgia;
The Shangsi Festival is a day for young men and women to meet for a trip, which also gives rise to outings and outdoor banquets.
On the whole, the significance of the Qingming Festival in the Chinese society is mainly to worship ancestors and sweep tombs, and when family members gather together to remember their ancestors, they also unite the feelings of family members again.
After grasping the time and significance of the Qingming Festival, let's understand the customs and taboos that need to be paid attention to in this festival, and the following 5 points are sorted out for your reference!
(Extended reading: Qingming Food|The solar term of the rain, let's remove the greasy green plum)
Important customs of Qingming Festival
1. Eat moist cakes
Eating moist cakes originated from the custom of the Cold Food Festival, when the Duke of Jin Wen ordered the people to prohibit the use of fire and must eat cold rice in order to commemorate the death of Jiezhitui who was burned by fire.
Not only moistened cakes, but also cold foods such as red turtle cake and grass cake are usually prepared for Qingming Festival.
2. Hang willow branches
It is said that Qingming is one of the three major ghost festivals in China, and in order to prevent the infestation of ghosts, willow branches are hung to ward off evil spirits. In addition, willow branches are also regarded as a symbol of vitality, and hanging willow branches can pray for the prosperity of the family and the peace of the country.
3. Go on a trip
The activity of the outing originated from the Shangsi Festival, which was the earliest day of the festival in ancient times, when people bathed in the river to ward off disasters, and at the same time, young people also made an appointment to go out together.
With the evolution of the times, the meaning of eliminating disasters and eliminating filth has gradually changed to welcoming the spring and enjoying the tour.
4. Rumours
The swing originated in the Spring and Autumn Period, and was changed to a swing after being called Qianqiu in the past, and became one of the activities of the Qingming Festival in the Han Dynasty, especially loved by women.
In ancient customs, the higher the bowl symbolizes the expulsion of disease, and the higher the score, the better the life, therefore, close to the Qingming Festival, every household is immersed in the joyful atmosphere of the festival.
5. Fly a kite
In the past, people would write their wishes for relieving illness and eliminating disasters on kites during the Qingming Festival, hanging high in the sky and flying with the wind, implying that bad luck would pass away with the wind.
Nowadays, for the sake of environmental protection, kite flying has become a symbolic ritual, which is called "releasing bad luck", taking advantage of the spring breeze to send away diseases and disasters.
(Gaying in the same scene: "Anyway, you won't worship me in the future" Qingming tomb sweeping, my mother said this to me)
Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels
Pay attention to taboos on Qingming Festival
Tomb sweeping is a custom, and there are many taboos to be aware of, such as the "married daughter can't sweep her mother's tomb" that you may have heard.
Traditional society believes that married women are like spilled water, and if they go back to their parents' homes to sweep the graves, they may share the blessings of their mother's brothers, and because the Taiwanese pronunciation of tomb sweeping and embarrassment is similar, I am afraid that it will lead to a messy life for the people of the mother's family. However, with the change of concepts in modern society, the framework of taboos should also be relatively broken.
Although there are folk practices such as women not taking incense or preparing to send gifts to others to worship on their behalf, no matter what gender, as long as you have a sincere heart, you can remember your ancestors together. After breaking the above conventional thinking, we invite you to take a look at what other taboos are worth paying attention to!
Photo by Arina Krasnikova on Pexels
1. Don't go home after sweeping the grave
After sweeping the tomb, do not go home directly, it is recommended to go to a lively place, such as a temple, so as not to bring filth and yin qi home.
2. Carefully select flowers for the ceremony
When worshipping, it is advisable to use plain flowers to express gratitude, such as lilies, calla lilies, chrysanthemums, etc., and it is not advisable to use thorny and showy flowers, such as roses and roses, so as not to block good luck.
3. Avoid specific fruits
When worshipping, you should pay attention to the types of fruits to be worshipped, including multi-seeded fruits, symbolizing "lack of single-mindedness", bananas, plums, and pears are homophonic to "invite you", pineapples have the meaning of "wanglai", and avoid using grapes, lychees, longans and other whole bunches of fruits, so as not to cause death.
4. Don't take pictures
Photographs should be avoided while at the cemetery to avoid offending the ancestors. If you need to take photos with your family members, you should be careful not to take pictures of the graves of other deceased people so as not to disturb the souls of the deceased.
5. Grave sweeping ends before 5 p.m
It is best to arrange the time of tomb sweeping before sunset, and numerology experts suggest that it is best to complete the tomb sweeping before 3 pm, because the sun is about to set and the yang energy is weakened, so as to avoid attracting yin spirits or being harassed.
Tomb sweeping on Qingming Festival is not only a custom, but also an opportunity for dear people to get together.
By understanding the taboos and customs, we can refine the process of chasing the distance with caution, and at the same time show our gratitude for the kindness of our ancestors and unite the emotions of the family.