Tomb Sweeping Day

In the drizzling rain of Tomb Sweeping Day, the sorrowful pedestrians on the road feel as if their souls are about to leave them.

Tomb Sweeping Day is one of the traditional Chinese festivals. It usually falls around April 4th or 5th of the Gregorian calendar, before or after Tomb Sweeping Day, when people hold worship and tomb-sweeping activities.

According to tradition, Tomb Sweeping Day originated from ancient worship activities. The ancients believed that Qingming was an important solar term among the 24 solar terms in the lunar calendar, indicating the arrival of spring and the prosperous growth of crops. At the same time, the ancients also believed that the souls of their ancestors needed to be worshiped and appeased, so Tomb Sweeping Day became a traditional festival for worship.

With the development of history, Tomb Sweeping Day has gradually evolved into an important festival that includes ancestor worship and tomb-sweeping. In China, different regions have different customs and traditions, such as:

Ancestor worship: Many families hold ancestor worship ceremonies during Tomb Sweeping Day, burn incense and worship their ancestors, expressing their respect and gratitude to their ancestors.

Tomb-sweeping: Many people visit their ancestors' graves, clean up the grass and debris around the graves, and burn paper, offer flowers, and wine to pray for their ancestors' blessings and peace.

Spring outing: In some places, people go for a spring outing and enjoy the beauty of spring during Tomb Sweeping Day, feeling the charm of nature.

Eating Tomb Sweeping Day glutinous rice dumplings: In some southern regions, people eat Qingming glutinous rice dumplings during Tomb Sweeping Day. It is a sweet made from glutinous rice flour, representing the reunion and happy life of family members.

As an important part of Chinese traditional culture, Tomb Sweeping Day not only has traditional worship and tomb-sweeping ceremonies but also embodies people's yearning for life and a better future. It is a traditional cultural memory and emotional expression.