Qingming was just the name of a solar term at first, and later became a festival to commemorate ancestors, which was related to the Cold Food Festival. Jin Wengong designated the second day of the Cold Food Festival as Tomb-Sweeping Day. In most parts of Shanxi, the day before Tomb-Sweeping Day was the Cold Food Festival. Tomb-Sweeping Day in Yushe County and other places celebrated the Cold Food Festival two days ago; Yuanqu County also pays attention to Tomb-Sweeping Day's Cold Food Festival the day before, and the light cold food the day before.
Tomb-Sweeping Day is one of the important "eight festivals a year" in China. Generally, it is around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar, and the festival is very long. There are two sayings: 8 days before 10 and 10 days before 10, and these 20 days belong to Tomb-Sweeping Day. Tomb-Sweeping Day originally meant grave-sweeping day, and the government of the Republic of China designated 15 days after the vernal equinox in 935 as a national holiday, also known as the national grave-sweeping day.
Origin:
It is said that the origin of Tomb-Sweeping Day began with the "grave-sweeping" ceremony of ancient emperors and generals. Later, people followed suit, and it became a fixed custom of the Chinese nation to worship ancestors and sweep graves on this day.
According to legend, 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. When everyone was in a hurry, I pushed the minister to a quiet place, cut a piece of meat from his thigh and cooked a bowl of broth for the son to drink. Zhong Er gradually recovered his spirit. Zhong Er shed tears when he found that the meat was cut off by mesons pushing his legs.
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, it was found that Jiezitui had sat under an old willow tree with his old mother on his back and died. Jin Wengong cried. When I was buried, I found a bloody book in a tree hole, which said, "May my master be clear forever." 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.