The origin of Tomb-Sweeping Day
Mourning day, drizzle like tears; Pedestrians on the road want to die. Ask local people where to buy wine? The shepherd boy just laughed and didn't answer Xingshan Village. When it comes to Qingming, people will naturally think of this poem by Du Mu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty. But in the beginning, Qingming didn't mean it, just the name of a solar term. During the Qingming Festival, most parts of China returned to the earth in spring, with clear skies, warmer climate and recovery of everything. It is the best season for spring ploughing and planting. Farmers are busy everywhere in the fields. There is a saying among the people that "Qingming and Grain Rain are connected, and there is no need to delay immersion."
How did this solar term that urges spring ploughing become a festival to commemorate ancestors? It should be said that this is related to the Cold Food Festival two days ago (or one day). Cold Food Festival is an early festival in ancient China. Legend has it that it was set up in the Spring and Autumn Period to commemorate Jiexiu, a loyal minister of the State of Jin.
In the Tang Dynasty, both literati and civilians regarded the grave sweeping of the Cold Food Festival as a ritual festival to return to their hometown and pursue religion. Because Tomb-Sweeping Day is close to the Cold Food Festival, people often extend the time for sweeping graves to Tomb-Sweeping Day. Poets' works are often cold food and Qingming. For example, Wei has a poem saying: "Qingming is good for cold food, and the spring garden is full of flowers." Bai Juyi also has a poem that says, "The cock crows and the tree is faint, and the Qingming cold food cries." In view of the fact that both folk cold food and Tomb-Sweeping Day have become a habit, the imperial court formally stipulated in the form of official documents that when Tomb-Sweeping Day came, he could have a holiday with the Cold Food Festival. This regulation has been around for more than 1200 years, indicating that Qingming began to have the color of a national statutory holiday.
During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Tomb-Sweeping Day gradually rose from being attached to the Cold Food Festival to replacing it. This is not only reflected in the fact that many ceremonies, such as grave sweeping, are held in Tomb-Sweeping Day, but also the customs and activities of the Cold Food Festival, such as cold food, cuju and swinging, have been taken over by Tomb-Sweeping Day.
Tomb-Sweeping Day later absorbed the contents of another earlier festival-Shangsi Festival. In ancient times, Shangsi Festival was held on the third day of the third lunar month. The main customs were jogging and bathing by the river, which reflected people's psychological needs for mental adjustment after a dull winter. There is a poem written by Lu Ji in the Jin Dynasty: "It's late spring and the weather is soft. Yuanji Longchu, swim the Yellow River. " It is a vivid portrayal of people's childhood travel in Shangsi Festival.
Since about the Tang Dynasty, people have been sweeping graves in Tomb-Sweeping Day, accompanied by recreational activities. As Tomb-Sweeping Day is going to the suburbs, while paying homage to his ancestors, it is also a way to adjust his mood to visit gardening and metallurgy in the bright spring. Therefore, Tomb-Sweeping Day is also called Youth Day. Children who are playful by nature are often not satisfied with having an outing in Tomb-Sweeping Day only once, just like the poem "When a teenager goes on a trip, he doesn't have to be both Tomb-Sweeping Day and thinking" written by Wang Wei, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty.
Tomb-Sweeping Day combined the essence of two ancient festivals, and finally formed a traditional festival in Song and Yuan Dynasties, which centered on worshipping ancestors and sweeping graves, and integrated cold food customs with activities such as thinking about going for an outing. The Ming and Qing Dynasties generally inherited the old system of the previous generation, and Tomb-Sweeping Day still adhered to and developed its position as an indispensable festival in spring life. During the Republic of China, on this day in Tomb-Sweeping Day, in addition to the original customs of sweeping graves and hiking, tree planting was also determined as a routine project, which was actually just an official recognition of the long-standing tree planting folk custom.
In the traditional culture of China, Tomb-Sweeping Day is a festival to commemorate ancestors and deceased relatives. The main memorial ceremony is grave sweeping, accompanied by hiking, tree planting and other activities. This festival embodies the significance of drinking water, uniting the nation, keeping fit in spring and caring for nature. Du Mu's poem "Seven Wonders of Qingming Festival" outlines a beautiful ink painting with spring rain, a shepherd boy and a restaurant. The poet's hurried steps lead Tomb-Sweeping Day's poetry. Zhang Zeduan's "The Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" brings people into another festival scene. The shops in the forest, the bustling crowd and various shapes of chariots, horses and boats all present a busy and prosperous scene in the picture. Today, Tomb-Sweeping Day still occupies an important position in people's daily life. Commemorate our ancestors and pursue the future with caution; Remembering the martyrs, looking forward to the future and creating a happy future are the themes of our festival.
What food does Qingming eat?
1, Green jiaozi
During the Qingming Festival, Jiangnan has always had the custom of eating green zongzi. Youth League mainly uses a kind of wild plant called "plasma wheat straw", which is mashed into mud with tools and squeezed out juice. Then people dip it in the dry water of this juice, and then grind and rub the pure glutinous rice flour. At this time, they can start to package jiaozi, and people will package jiaozi around Tomb-Sweeping Day.
Most of the stuffing hearts of the Youth League are made of exquisite sugar bean paste, and people also put a small piece of sugar lard in them when they wrap the stuffing. After jiaozi is done, it can be steamed directly in the cage. When coming out of the cage, you need to brush the cooked vegetable oil evenly on the surface of jiaozi, so that the green jiaozi will be successful.
2. Aizan
There is an old saying in some areas that "Tomb-Sweeping Day eats mugs before and after, and he won't get sick all year round". Aizan can be said to be a necessary traditional snack in Tomb-Sweeping Day. The main production method is to wash the fresh and tender wormwood, then boil it in a pot, take it out and drain the water. The water for boiling wormwood must be reserved for later use.
Then chop the cooked wormwood into grass mud, and the finer the grass mud, the worse the better. After cutting the wormwood mud, mix it with boiled wormwood water and glutinous rice flour. Then, the prepared fillings such as sesame seeds, plum beans and peanuts are wrapped in dough, sealed and kneaded into a round shape and a long shape, and then steamed in a pot for 15-20 minutes, and then taken out.
3. Warm mushroom bag
Warm mushroom bag is a traditional snack in Taining. The scientific name of the raw material of warm mushroom is Daqu grass, also called Fuer grass, and the local people call it warm mushroom grass. Every year on the eve of Tomb-Sweeping Day, the fields are covered with moustaches, which are hairy, fresh and tender, and it is a good season to pick and make warm mushroom packages. In Taining, the production of warm mushroom buns is somewhat different. The southern piece is made of freshly picked warm mushroom grass, which looks like a full moon, similar to steamed stuffed bun; The northern piece is made of warm mushroom powder, which is shaped like a crescent moon and more like jiaozi. Southern films are usually eaten on the eve of Tomb-Sweeping Day, and there are not many rules for the sake of fresh taste.
4. Xunzi
Tomb-Sweeping Day has the custom of eating prickly heat in both north and south of China. "Zanzi" is a kind of fried food, crisp and delicate, and was called "cold ware" in ancient times. The custom of forbidding fire and cold in the Cold Food Festival is not popular in most parts of China, but the prickly heat related to this festival is deeply loved by the world. The prickly heat that is popular in Han areas is different from the north and the south: the prickly heat in the north is generous and free, with wheat flour as the main material; The southern prickly heat is exquisitely made, mainly rice and flour.
5. eggs
According to folk custom, Tomb-Sweeping Day has good health all year round after eating an egg. Tomb-Sweeping Day's eating eggs originated from the custom of forbidding fire in some areas in the pre-Qin period, and forbidding eating cold food for many days. Cooked eggs are a good food reserve to survive this period. Tomb-Sweeping Day can eat eggs to play on this day, which can be roughly divided into two types, one is "painting eggs" and the other is "carving eggs". Painted eggs can be eaten; And "carving eggs" is just for enjoyment.
Step 6 push steamed bread
"Zi Tuimo", also known as Lao Momo, is similar to the helmet of ancient military commanders and weighs about 250-500 grams. Eggs or red dates are wrapped inside and have a top on them. The top is covered with flowers. Hua Mian is a dough-shaped steamed stuffed bun with the shape of swallow, worm, snake, rabbit or Four Treasures of the Study. The round "push buns" are for men to enjoy. Married women eat long "shuttle buns" and unmarried girls eat "catch buns". Children have flowers such as swallows, snakes, rabbits and tigers. "Big Tiger" is specially for boys and they like it.
7.pancakes
There is a saying in Xiamen called "Eating Pancakes on Qingming Festival", which means that Tomb-Sweeping Day's family will get together to make pancakes after sweeping the grave. Today, most parts of southern Fujian still retain such customs and habits. When old Xiamen people roll pancakes, they usually like to put some crispy seaweed, shredded fried eggs or a little spicy sauce in the pancake skin, which is more delicious when it is rolled. Among them, all kinds of vegetables are packed, which indicates that farmers are prosperous and six livestock are prosperous. In some areas, people also believe that eating pancakes wrapped in celery and leeks will make people work harder, live longer (leeks) and prosper their family business.
8. Onions and omelets
Many families in Tomb-Sweeping Day and Qingdao eat green onions and egg rolls, which means cleverness. This custom has continued to this day. In addition, in the old days, there were people in Qingdao who wanted to knead dough flowers, called "steamed Xiaoyan" and eat white-flour chicken and eggs. It means that the swallow has come and the real spring has come. On a clear morning, the whole family must eat eggs and white-flour chicken, so as not to get sick because of bright eyes. Many students will bring eggs to their teachers to show their admiration.
9. Pu Guo Zi
When making cakes, the leaves and fruits (kernels) of the cakes are mashed first, then the rice is mashed into powder, then the sugar is fermented and mixed, and then the cakes are steamed in a pottery mold or a plum blossom mold. Generally, there are two kinds of common seeds: plum blossom type and peach type, and there are also bowls of fermented peaches. The steamed seeds are grass green, and everyone smiles, which always gives people a beautiful feeling of spring. It is light green and very sweet. It is said that eating it can relieve accumulated heat and cure diseases.
10, mustard rice
During the Qingming Festival, most places in eastern Fujian, both urban and rural, have the custom of eating pickled mustard tuber. It is said that eating mustard rice mixed with rice on February 2 every year can prevent scabies all year round. There is also the custom of cooking loach noodles for ancestors on March 3.
1 1, jujube cake
Jujube cake is also called "self-pushing cake". In some parts of the north, fermented grains are used to make dough, and steamed dates are served. They are also used to making jujube cakes into swallows, stringing them with wicker and hanging them on the door, and eating them cold to commemorate the noble quality of mesons in promoting fame and fortune. Cake is a grain, and adding dates to the grain conforms to the purpose of preserving health and sweetening in spring, which can increase the function of spleen and limit the excessive publicity of liver qi.
Matters needing attention in cleaning diet
Taboo food
Vegetables: There are many vegetables in Qingming Festival, so you need to eat less. Common ones are bamboo shoots, mustard greens, pumpkins and spinach. In spring, some people have skin allergies. If everyone eats this kind of food at this time, it is likely to induce skin sores and swelling, which may aggravate the condition seriously.
Melons and fruits: As for fruits, eat less peaches and apricots. According to ancient books, if you often eat peaches and other fruits, you will easily get angry, and there will be carbuncle, sore, gangrene, furuncle, furuncle and other symptoms; If people often eat apricots at this time, they are more likely to get carbuncle and hurt their muscles and bones. Everyone should pay special attention.
Fungi: At this time, people need to eat less fungus food, mainly mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms. At this time, eating too much edible fungus food is very likely to cause symptoms such as liver yang headache and liver wind dizziness, and in severe cases, it can induce or aggravate skin sores, so people should control their diet.
Meat: chicken head, pig head, goose, chicken wings, chicken feet, etc. Don't eat too much. These foods are active, and eating too much will cause chronic diseases such as liver yang headache and liver wind dizziness. In addition, this kind of food can also induce or aggravate skin sores and swelling.
Eggs should not be eaten too much. Generally, you can only eat more than two eggs a day, especially patients with hepatitis, allergies, hyperlipidemia, high fever, kidney disease and diarrhea.
Seafood: there are mainly hairtail, yellow croaker, pomfret, mussel, shrimp and crab. These foods are mostly cold, salty and fishy, which are easy to induce allergic diseases such as asthma and urticaria, and are also one of the foods that promote skin diseases such as sores and swelling.