Spring is here, and Cold Food Festival is here again: What you don’t know about Cold Food Festival

"Spring City has flying flowers everywhere, and the imperial willows are leaning in the east wind during Cold Food Festival."

Hidden in the well-known poems is the ancient Chinese traditional festival “Cold Food Festival”.

The Cold Food Festival is the day before Qingming Festival, also known as the "No Smoking Festival".

According to legend, the Cold Food Festival was established to commemorate Jie Zitui, a famous minister of loyalty, filial piety, integrity and righteousness during the Spring and Autumn Period.

Jie Zitui once followed the prince of Jin, Chong'er, into exile abroad for 19 years, and "cut his own flesh to serve the king". After Chong'er ascended the throne as Duke Wen of Jin, he rewarded all his officials, but Jie Zitui did not ask for any reward for his merits, and returned to Mianshan (now in Jiexiu City, Shanxi Province) with his mother.

Duke Wen went to Mianshan Mountain to look for a wise man and set fire to the mountain to force Jie Zi to leave. The mother and son refused to leave and were burned to death while hugging a tree. Duke Wen regretted it so much that he decreed that no open fire should be lit on that day and only cold food should be eaten.

But some people also say

The Origin of Cold Food Festival

Related to Chinese star culture

According to legend, as early as the Zhou Dynasty, the ancients highly respected the theory of astrology and guided their agricultural life according to the changes of the stars.

In mid-spring, the wind is dry and the weather is dry. Not only are the fires people keep easy to catch fire, but the rolling spring thunder is also easy to cause fires from the sky. At that time, the "big Mars" first appeared in the eastern sky, and the ancestors believed that there was some kind of mysterious connection between the two.

People believed that the appearance of the "big Mars" was a warning from the gods. If they continued to take fire, the God of Fire would become angry and bring the fire from heaven to the human world. Out of worship of the stars and fear of natural disasters, whenever the "big Mars" appeared, people would hold a grand fire worship ceremony to offer sacrifices to the God of Fire and extinguish all the burning fires, which was called "forbidding fire". Gradually, this custom of forbidding fire became fixed and was called "Forbidding Fire Festival". Later, it gradually developed into the Cold Food Festival.

One hundred and five days after the winter solstice, which is one or two days before the Qingming Festival, people extinguish the furnace that has been burning all winter on the Cold Food Festival and light a new fire on the Qingming Festival. This is called "changing the fire" and is seen as a transitional ceremony to bid farewell to the old and usher in the new. At the same time, every household eats cold food, and the Cold Food Festival has become the only festival named after a food custom.

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Remembering the ancestors and inheriting the culture

How much do you know about the customs of Cold Food Festival?

As the Cold Food Festival gradually merges into the Qingming Festival, people no longer eat only cold food on the Cold Food Festival. However, the remembrance of ancestors thousands of years ago and the nostalgia of deceased relatives and friends today are no different. People remember the ancestors and pass on culture by tasting traditional cold food snacks.

No smoking, no cold food

Whether it is to change the old custom of burning fire or to commemorate Jie Zitui, fireworks are prohibited on the Cold Food Festival and cold food is eaten. Cold food foods include cold food porridge, cold food noodles, cold food juice, green rice and glutinous rice.

Tomb sweeping and ancestor worship

The original custom was to worship fire or commemorate Jie Zitui, but as time went by, it gradually evolved into the custom of worshiping ancestors.

Outing

Spring outing was popular during the Tang and Song dynasties.

Song Dynasty Li Zhiyan's "What I Saw in Donggu" records: "After paying respects and sweeping the ground, he went sightseeing with his brothers, wife, relatives and close friends, and returned home happily."

Planting willows

In memory of Jie Zitui's pursuit of political clarity, people would plant willow trees on their doors.

I know you will definitely ask again: "Aren't willow branches given to friends as gifts?"

My answer is: Yes, but not entirely.

Since ancient times, willow has been regarded as a ward off evil spirits. People break willow branches to pray for blessings and avoid disasters. Of course, now we can also break willow branches to send to friends to express the meaning of retaining (柳, stay) or parting.

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Cold Food Festival Poems

Cold Food

Tang Dynasty - Han Hong

Flowers are flying everywhere in the spring city, and the imperial willows are leaning in the east wind during the Cold Food Festival.

At dusk, candles were lit in the Han Palace, and light smoke drifted into the residences of the five marquises.

"Cold Food Cemetery"

Song Dynasty Yang Wanli

How narrow is the straight path! Can you avoid supporting the dangerous bridge?

The maple leaves in the distant mountains are pale, and the broken house is lonely beside the wheat.

The spring breeze blows back the old grass, but there was no new grass last year.

Pear blossoms have been blooming since Cold Food Festival, and I am only worried when the festival comes.

Cold Food Night

Tang Dynasty - Han Wei

The cold wind blows gently,

The plum blossoms are falling in the snow and the apricot blossoms are red.

Late at night, I set up the swing rope diagonally.

The pavilion is shrouded in mist and rain.

"Cold Food Day"

Wen Tingyun of the Tang Dynasty

The dark red and green paths intersect, and the purple robe is warm and fragrant.

The colorful ropes are usually on the wall, and the light balls fall on the branches in the evening.

The grass in the window envieth the chicken eggs, and the celery paste on the plate hates the swallow's nest.

Since the spring is in the jade tower, I cannot ride a horse through the misty suburbs.

Cold Food Festival and Qingming Festival are always inseparable. To this day, the relationship between the two is still complicated. It is always hard to tell which came first, which is more important, which inherited which, and which merged with which.

On these special days of spring, let us do what we want to do, meet the people we want to meet, and fulfill those wishes that have not yet been achieved.

The spring is beautiful, may your dreams come true!

Comprehensive sources: Xinhuanet, Guangming Daily, CCTV.com, etc.