Qingming Festival, also known as March Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Outing Festival, etc., occurs on April 4th or 5th of the Gregorian calendar at the turn of mid-spring and late spring every year. Qingming is not only one of Twenty-four Solar Terms in spring, but also an important traditional festival.

Coexisting with the Qingming Festival, there are Shangsi Festival and Hanshi Festival, also known as the Cold Food Festival. In the later development process, Qingming gradually absorbed the contents of the Shangsi Festival and the Hanshi Festival. Like three rivers, the three festivals merged and flowed in the name of "Qingming" to this day. The integrated Qingming, while continuing to be a solar term for farming, has also become a festival for people to express their emotions and enjoy the spring. Together with the Spring Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, and the Mid-Autumn Festival, they are known as the four traditional Chinese festivals. Tomb-sweeping and spring outing are the two major folk cultural themes of Qingming Festival.

Shangsi Festival: Bathing and Blessing, Feasting and Entertainment

Shangsi Festival is celebrated on the third day of the third month of theChinese calendar, so it is also called “TheDouble Third Festival”. On this day, people of all ages go to the water to bathe to remove filth and ominousness and hope to make disasters and diseases go away with the water.

In the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), the Shangsi Festival became a very grand festival. After the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), while the name of the Shangsi Festival began to gradually dissipate, folk activities were gradually integrated into the Qingming Festival.

Hanshi Festival: No Fire and Eat Cold Food

The Hanshi Festival was designated to pay tribute to a loyal statesman during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 B.C.) who died in a fire. At that time,the Chinese people did not cook on the day of the Hanshi Festival and ate only cold food. The Tomb-Sweeping rituals were also derived from it.As of the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), the Hanshi Festival was slowly replaced by Qingming Festival.

Qingming Festival: Tomb Sweeping and Spring Outing

After the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), the three festivals merged into the Qingming Festival. Qingming is no longer a simple solar term but has become a grand folk festival. Tomb Sweeping and Spring Outing are the two major themes.

Sweep tombs to honor the dead. The custom of tomb sweeping originated very early, and it has become an important ritual activity in Qin and Han Dynasties. In modern times, Tomb-sweeping Day is still an important festival in memory of revolutionary martyrs and ancestors.

Spring Outing refers to go to the fields in the countryside in spring. It is a good time to go on a trip because it is bright and beautiful and there is a vibrant scene everywhere. At the same time, the tomb sweeping is a reason for people to take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the spring.