It’s holiday season yet again in China! While we are enjoying this three-day holiday (April 5-7 with Tomb Sweeping Day falling on April 5), here are some facts you probably didn’t know about Tomb Sweeping Day.
又放假啦！雖然我們在享受著三天假期（4月5日——7日，清明節為4月5日），但是關於清明節，有些事情你可能不知道。
1) The Chinese term for Tomb Sweeping Day is Qingming Jie (清明節), which means “clear and bright.” This name originated from Qingming Jieqi (清明節氣), one of the 24 solar terms in the Chinese solar calendar. This solar term comes after the Spring Equinox and lasts 15 days, while the weather is getting nice and warm.
1）清明節的中文名為“Qingming Jie”，意味著“清晰和明亮”。這個名字起源於清明節氣——中國陽曆的24個節氣之一。該節氣在春分後，持續15天，期間天氣越來越好，越來越暖。
2) During this period, people hang willow branches in memory of an official named Jie Zitui, who rather graphically cut his own flesh to feed a starving prince named Chong’er. After Chong’er became King Jinwen Gong, he remembered that he forgot to reward Jiezi Tui. When he went to Jie Zitui’s house, he found it empty; Jie had gone to Mian Mountain (綿山) to hide with his mother. Jinwen Gong set a fire around the mountain to smoke Jie Zitui out, but the official never appeared. After the fire burned out, Jinwen Gong found Jie and his mother’s corpses near a willow tree. In the tree hole, Jinwen Gong found a letter from Jie urging him to be a good king.
2）在這期間，人們懸掛柳枝，紀念一位名為介子推的官員，他割下了自己的肉喂一位名為重耳的王子。重耳成為晉文公後，他想起自己忘記獎賞介子推了。當他來到了介子推家中時，裡面空無一人。為了與母親隱居，介子推去了綿山。晉文公在綿山周邊放火，企圖用煙把介子推燻出來，但是他並未現身。火被熄滅後，晉文公發現，介子推和他母親的屍體在一棵柳樹旁。在樹洞裡，晉文公發現了介子推寫給他的一封信，信件敦促他成為一位好君主。
3) The custom of tomb sweeping varies according to different areas in China. In Hebei (or northern China), tomb sweeping starts a week before actual Tomb Sweeping Day. In the south, people sweep tombs the day before Tomb Sweeping Day; the eve is also known as Cold Food Day. No matter where you are, nobody actually sweeps tombs on Tomb Sweeping Day.
3）掃墓的習俗各地不一。在河北（或北方），掃墓開始於清明節前一週。在南方，人們在清明節前一天掃墓。清明節前夕為寒食節。無論你在哪，事實上沒有人會在清明節當天掃墓。
4) Qingming is also a time to welcome the spring and enjoy the changing of the seasons. Common outdoor activities include hiking, kite flying, and tree planting.
4）清明也是迎接春天，享受季節變化的時候。一般的戶外活動包括徒步旅行、放風箏和植樹。
5) Not all Chinese ethnic minorities celebrate Tomb Sweeping Day, but there are 24 that do (thanks to the Hans’ influence) with sweeping tombs and their own customs. For example, the Tujia ethnic group eat pig heads and the Miao minority makes a type of pastry called Qingming Ba (清明耙) with mugwort and sticky rice.
5）不是所有的民族都過清明節，但是由於漢族的影響，有24個民族掃墓，他們各有傳統。例如，土家族吃豬頭，苗族做用艾蒿和糯米制成的清明粑。
6) People in the South of China eat qingtuan, a dumpling made out of glutinous rice and barley grass, but people in the North don’t have the same tradition.
6）南方人吃青團——一種由糯米和大麥草製成的麵糰，但是北方人沒這傳統。
明天開始就可以放假三天了，該休息的休息，想玩的去玩，還有回老家祭祖也可以趁此機會聯絡家人、家族感情......
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