The Qingming Festival
Key Words
1.      清明节
the Qingming Festival
2.      24 节气
the 24 seasonal division points
3.      春耕播种
spring plowing and sowing
4.      祭祖
to offer sacrifices to one’s ancestors
5.      扫墓
to sweep the tombs (of the deceased)
6.      寒食节
the Hanshi / Cold Food Festival
7.      公墓
public cemeteries
8.      在墓碑前祭拜
to bow before the memorial tablet
9.      焚香
to burn incense
10.  烧纸钱
to burn paper money
11.  春游的习俗
the custom of Spring outings
12.  放风筝
to fly kites (kite flying)
13.  一串小灯笼
a string of little lanterns
14.  植树，树苗
to plan trees, saplings
15.  植树节
the Arbor Day
16.  秋千
a swing
17.  踏青
stepping the green
18.  孝顺
(to practice) filial piety
19.  健身
body-building
20.  拔河
tug of war
21.  斗鸡
rooster-fighting
The Qingming Festival
The Qingming Festival is one of the 24 seasonal division points in China, falling on April 4-6 each year. After the festival, the temperature will rise up and rainfall increases. It is the hi
gh time for spring plowing and sowing. But the Qingming Festival is not only a seasonal point to guide farm work; it is more a festival of commemoration.
The Qingming Festival sees a combination of sadness and happiness.
This is the most important day of sacrifice. Both the Han and minority ethnic groups at this time offer sacrifices to their ancestors and sweep the tombs of the deceased. Also, they will not cook on this day and only cold food is served.
The Hanshi (Cold Food) Festival was usually one day before the Qingming Festival. As our ancestors often extended the day to the Qingming, they were later combined.
On each Qingming Festival, all cemeteries are crowded with people who came to sweep tombs and offer sacrifices. Traffic on the way to the cemeteries becomes extremely jammed. The customs have been greatly simplified today. After slightly sweeping the tombs, people offer food, flowers and favorites of the dead, then burn incense and paper money and bow before the memorial tablet.
In contrast to the sadness of the tomb sweepers, people also enjoy hope of Spring on this day. The Qingming Festival is a time when the sun shines brightly, the trees and grass become green and nature is again lively. Since ancient times, people have followed the custom of Spring outings. At this time tourists are everywhere.
People love to fly kites during the Qingming Festival. Kite flying is actually not limited to the Qingming Festival. Its uniqueness lies in that people fly kites not during the day, but also at night. A string of little lanterns tied onto the kite or the thread look like shining stars, and therefore, are called "god's lanterns."
The Qingming Festival is also a time to plant trees, for the survival rate of saplings is high and trees grow fast later. In the past, the Qingming Festival was called "Arbor Day". But since 1979, "Arbor Day" was settled as March 12 according to the Gregorian calendar.
Qingming Festival Activities
Swing
Swing is a kind of game utensils. Swinging is a sport that the player swings back and forth with a tread plate hung on a frame by long ropes.
The origin of swing can be traced back to some 100,000 years ago. Climbing trees or crossing streams is the most primitive embryonic form of swinging. Later in the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC to 476 years ago), the swing consisting of a tread plated hung on the frame by ropes was introduced into the Central Plains area. Since the Han dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD), swinging had gradually became a folk activity performed at the Tomb Sweeping Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and other festivals until present day. Swinging can be categorized into the single swing, double swing, standing swing and sitting swing. Each village has its own master swinging player and sometimes competitions are held. The one swinging highest with the most beautiful movements will receive praise from neighbors. Swinging days are often good opportunities for young men and women to encounter and interact. Swing, as the folk traditional sport with a history of several thousand years still maintains its vitality nowadays.英语单词spring是什么意思
Kite-flying
The custom of kite-flying prevails during the Tomb Sweeping Day (around April 5th).The bamboo crossbow of the kite vibrates with a buzz as it rises aloft on the power of its tail.
Big kites can be as broad as about three metres square with a tail of six to ten metres. Most kites have a rectangular shape. The rest are patterned as crabs, centipedes, butterflies and dragonflies, or Chinese characters such as "fortune" or "longevity". All kites are constructed with fine craftsmanship.
When flown in the evening, they have lights attached to their tails and some have as many as three to five lights strung together.
Stepping-the-green
"Stepping-the-green" refers to the spring-outgoing people talk about now. Qingming is in early March when it begins to turn warm, and everything is blooming. So it is just a good time to go out for a walk. And so Qingming is not just a blue time for remembrance, but also a green time for fun.

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